Persona: Sins of the Fool
by Azrael Eternum
Summary: Five years after Inaba, Souji's powers are slowly destroying his mind. Far from home, things seem hopeless until a former Velvet Room resident shows up with a request. He must return to Inaba and prepare to face a foe unlike any he's ever known.
1. Unwitting Savior

Persona: Sins of the Fool

By Azrael Eternum

9/20/2010

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Shin Megami Tensei or the Persona series. They are the property of Atlus.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Unwitting Savior

~December 31st, 2017~

The scotch burned ever so slightly as it slid down Souji Seta's throat. He could feel the tingling in his extremities that signified the beginnings of another slow descent into drunkenness. Ice clinked against the sides of the lowball glass as he swirled the bitter drink around absentmindedly. "New Years Eve," he mumbled quietly to his empty office.

It was just one more night like any other, and would pass into another day of hangovers and medication.

He double checked that the clip was safely removed from his sidearm and placed in the opposite drawer of his desk. He'd never been suicidal when drunk in the past, but you never can be too careful when mixing alcohol and firearms. Souji kicked his feet up on the hardwood desk, accidentally knocking over the nameplate reading: Souji Seta, Private Investigator.

He'd become a PI three years ago when he moved to New York City. He longed to be back in Inaba, or Japan for that matter, but he couldn't stand the thought of his friends seeing him like this. The Wild Card that had been such a boon to him during his time in the Investigation Team had some wicked side affects on his brain down the road, which he discovered only a year after finishing high school.

It had started with hallucinations. At first it was just shadowy figures in the corner or his eye, but soon he was seeing Personas fighting it out with Shadows in broad daylight, inanimate objects catching fire spontaneously, blood dripping down the walls, and it just gets worse from there.

Then there was the loss of control. Occasionally, some of those spontaneous fires he saw were really there; started by a misfired Agi spell that he hadn't meant to cast. After he'd shorted out two televisions with Zio spells and almost burned down his apartment complex with a misplaced Agidyne, he knew something had to be done.

He'd discovered fairly quickly that alcohol seemed to weaken the effects, though not removing them altogether. For that he'd required suppressants, old experimental drugs rumored to have originated from some underground experiments conducted by the Kirijo Group. Souji didn't care so much about the origins, or the fact that they supposedly cut years off his life. It made the crazy go away when taken regularly, and made it manageable when taken sparingly and combined with scotch.

He'd moved to the States shortly after that, too ashamed of his current state to be seen by his friends. The PI business seemed like the logical thing for him after the Midnight Channel case. This way, he could still use his powers to help people, but wouldn't have to face his friends. He didn't want them to see their fearless leader reduced to an alcohol and drug dependent shell.

He downed the rest of the tumbler in his hand, and then sat up to fill the glass with more of the brown liquid. He fumbled with the bottle, knocking it over and spilling a few shots worth onto his desk before correcting his slip.

"Maybe that's a sign that you've had enough, friend," came the voice, as it usually did at times like these.

"I'll decide when I've had enough, Nagi," Souji grumbled towards the swordsman standing in the corner, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. "Besides, I'm obviously not drunk enough yet. I can still see you."

Izanagi shrugged. "As you wish. Just doing my part to try and keep you from spending the first part of the new year hunched over a toilet seat." Souji just grumbled under his breath as he filled the lowball glass and dropped two ice cubes into the amber colored alcohol.

Izanagi was the only Persona that Souji still had any direct influence over. However, it seemed as if the strengths of many of his previous Personas had combined to make Izanagi into a veritable powerhouse. Able to wield all of the main elements, and strong against all kinds of attack, Izanagi had become like a Jack-of-all-trades, yet was master of none. And at some point in Souji's deteriorating mental state, Izanagi had started to speak to his human self.

Souji shook off Izanagi's words of concern with another sip of scotch. He heard the announcer on the TV introducing Gas Chamber, a Japanese band that would be playing in the New Year in Times Square. He vaguely remembered Rise mentioning at their last gathering in Inaba that she had met their lead singer, something about working with his wife. Pretty impressive to see them playing New Years Eve in Times Square.

Had it really been three years since he'd last seen all of them? Since he'd last seen Yukiko?

Yukiko. Now there was a line of thinking he did not want to go down. Instead, he took another quick gulp of his scotch and struggled to push her smiling face out of his mind. When that didn't work, he took another drink.

A drink which he promptly spit out when a swirl of black and azure appeared on the other side of his desk.

He sat up quickly, tossing the glass to the side and pulling his sidearm out of the right hand drawer. The tumbler shattered against the hard wood floor as he slowly breathed out, fighting his own drunkenness to try to keep his aim steady. As a figure began to materialize from within the darkness, he cursed himself for forgetting the clip in the opposite drawer.

The figure waved its hand quickly to the side, and Souji felt the pistol rip wrest itself from his grip as it flew into the wall behind the figure. Izanagi drew his katana and prepared to strike, but was knocked backwards by some invisible force before he could even begin to swing the blade. Souji reached quickly for the knife he kept hidden under his desk, ready to defend against the unexpected assailant.

A strong gust of wind threw him and his chair back against the wall, a good two feet out of reach of the hidden blade. He gasped as the air left his lungs in a rush, desperately trying to regain his composure and preparing to dodge whatever came next.

"What's going on?" he cried out to Izanagi, who seemed unable to pull himself away from the wall.

"If you would calm yourself for one second, Souji Seta, I would introduce myself," spoke an eerily familiar voice.

"No way," Souji breathed, "Margaret?" The voice chuckled.

"Close, Souji Seta, but you have me confused for my older sibling," The figure that materialized from the fading portal dressed much more "normal" compared to Margaret, wearing jeans and tennis shoes with a white shirt under a black, waist-length trench coat that hung open. Her blonde hair was straight as opposed to Margaret's golden curls and ran down to just above her shoulders. However, the striking, yellow eyes were identical to those of Souji's assistant from the Velvet Room.

"My name is Elizabeth, Souji Seta, and I have a request for you." She snapped her fingers and the portal behind her vanished. She quickly took one of the chairs opposite Souji and sat, crossing her legs and leaning back into the cushions with a sigh of relief. "Sorry for the flashy entrance, but I thought a planar jump would be a bit faster than a flight halfway around the world." She stretched her arms above her head, closing her eyes for a second before relaxing again and sliding farther down into the chair. "Just as exhausting, though. You're a tough man to find, Souji Seta. Normally a person of your ability radiates enough energy to shine brightly against the backdrop of the rest of humanity. You, on the other hand, barely even registered as one capable of summoning a Persona. I wouldn't have believed you to be a true Fool if my sister hadn't told me otherwise."

Souji stared blankly at the blonde woman who had just invaded his office as she continued to get comfortable in one of his guest chairs. He glanced at Izanagi, who had regained his composure and was eyeing the blonde woman warily, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.

"You may relax, Izanagi, I mean you no harm," Elizabeth stated turning her hear towards the Persona. Souji nearly fell out of his chair.

"Your actions upon arrival suggest otherwise, miss," Izanagi growled, not lowering his guard.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I said I mean you no harm. That doesn't mean that I'll invite harm upon myself, which seemed all you were prepared to offer me at the time."

Souji composed himself, sliding his chair up to his desk and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the hard surface. "Chill, Nagi," he gestured to the Persona to back off before refocusing on Elizabeth. "I don't think we could take her at the moment anyway. Not if she's anything like her sister." Elizabeth just smiled at him.

Souji sighed, lacing his fingers in front of his face and resting his forehead on his hands. He studied the figure across from him for a few more seconds before speaking. "You are obviously familiar with me, but I know next to nothing about you. Your sister only mentioned you once in passing, if I recall. She said you were searching for someone."

She continued smiling. "That is mostly correct; I've spent the last seven years looking for someone. Rather, I know exactly where he is, but I didn't have a way to free him from his prison. At least, not until recently. But I've discovered a way to bring him back, but unfortunately I can't do it alone. I need the help of someone with comparable power to his, and you are the most applicable, as your power is nearly identical."

Souji's eyes widened. "The same as me? Do you mean he's a Wild Card too? Who is he? What's happened to him?"

Elizabeth's face darkened, and for the first time since arriving she looked away from both Souji and Izanagi. "His name was Minato Arisato. He was a Wild Card, the same as you, one of only two true Fools to ever exist. He died seven years ago fighting alongside his friend to save the world from Death, similar to how you and your friends saved the world from Izanami's fog. His soul now exists as a barrier separating Nyx, the harbinger of death, from Erebus, the manifestation of humanity's negative thoughts and emotions. Think of Erebus like the Shadow Selves your friends faced, except representing the whole of humanity. If Erebus ever reaches Nyx, all life on Earth shall cease. As it stands now, there is no way to remove his soul from the seal without dooming humanity to destruction. But with your help, I believe I can bring him back and reunite him with the friends that he lost with his sacrifice."

She turned her head back towards him, and Souji noticed tears welling up in Elizabeth's eyes. The look on her face was pleading with him in a way simple words could not. He sighed, rubbing his temples and trying hard to focus on the desk in front of him so as to avoid her gaze.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Elizabeth, but I'm not exactly the man I once was. This Wild Card power has been more of a curse than a blessing for the last few years. I can't even control my abilities anymore unless I'm drunk or taking drugs that will slowly kill me. I don't think I can be much help to you in this state." Souji looked up to meet her gaze, which was graced with a sad smile.

"Yes, the curse of the true Fool. You are only the second true Fool to ever exist, and the first that has lived beyond the end of his journey. My former master was unsure of the repercussions of such power on a normal human, and we had no way of knowing for sure until you started to deteriorate. The power of the true Fool, control over every arcana, is a power meant for a truly enlightened individual. A normal human can't handle the strain on the psyche, as you have seen."

"In the past, my former master had spread the Wild Card power across multiple individuals when it was needed. They would each have control of multiple arcana, but never all of them. However, in recent days, my former master's power has weakened, and he has only been able to visit his blessing of power on one individual at a time. While many can awaken to their Personas, only one person at a time can be a true Fool. In fact, Minato's death is the only reason you can even have access to such power."

Souji tried his best to absorb all this information, but his semi-drunken brain was still stumbling over Elizabeth's sudden appearance and couldn't effectively wrap itself around much else.

"I'm not sure I get all of this, but regardless, how exactly am I supposed to help in this condition?" He waved his hands across himself for emphasis, almost toppling out of his chair again in the process. He silently cursed his dependence on alcohol while at the same moment wishing for another shot of scotch to make these sudden revelations go down easier.

Elizabeth reached inside her jacket and removed a large, blue book. It was similar to the tome Margaret had carried with his Persona collection, but the binding was different. It seemed older somehow, and even in his current state Souji could sense immense power radiate from it. Elizabeth placed it on the desk and slid it towards him slowly.

"This," she stated quietly, like she was sharing some well guarded secret, "is Minato's Compendium. It contains a record of all the Personas he ever summoned. With your Wild Card power, you should be able to utilize them." She opened the book on the table, revealing the various cards held within. Many he recognized from his time fighting against Adachi and Izanami, though some were unfamiliar to him.

She began speaking before he could ask, "Some of these may be beyond your power to control, especially in your current state. However, you should be able to summon most of them once you regain your full strength. In the meantime, you can use the Compendium as a vessel for your power. It should allow you enough stability to have full control over your abilities, though you may still have occasional hallucinations."

Souji absently looked towards Izanagi. "Looks like I won't be rid of you just yet, my old friend," he thought silently. He took the book in hand and felt power rush out of him. He felt almost instantaneous relief, and his mind felt clear for the first time in years. He closed his eyes, and for the first time since he gained his power he felt only Izanagi within himself. He smiled without realizing it, eyes still closed, and exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Elizabeth's chuckle brought him back to the present. Opening his eyes, he set the tome aside, and was relieved when the pressure didn't come rushing back over him. She reached across the desk and picked up the book, replacing it with a small, black key. "I will hold on to the Compendium for you, but feel free to call upon me whenever you need use of it," she said, tucking the book back in her jacket. "That key can be used to summon me at any time; all it requires is a door to unlock." She stood to leave, saying, "Now, I believe the first order of business should be reconnecting with those you have lost. It seems unfair of me to ask your help in this matter without allowing you the same courtesy. Besides, you will require their assistance."

Souji quickly stood, slamming a hand down on his desk. "Wait a second," he ordered, raising his voice a bit. "You just give me this power, assuming I'm going to help you, and then tell me to drag my friends into it? What's in this for us?"

The gold haired woman just smiled again, snapping her fingers. A portal appeared once again, swirling together out of nothing. "If we are successful, I may have a way of restoring your control, and your sanity, permanently. You would be able to stay with your friends instead of having to live a world away in seclusion." She chuckled to herself again. "Speaking of which; in my travels, I came across a creature searching desperately for you. He agreed to help me with my request if I led him to you." Before Souji could react, another blonde figure came out from the portal, hurtling itself across the room before tackling Souji and his chair to the floor with a loud cry of "Sensei!"

"Teddie?" Souji asked, dumbfounded. The blonde young man/shadow looked up at him with a smile that made his entire face glow with happiness.

"Sensei! I've looked everywhere for you! I'm so glad that I've found you again!" Teddie exclaimed, squeezing Souji tighter than ever. The silver haired young man struggled to breathe against the crushing admiration.

"Gather your friends, Souji Seta, and summon me again. I will explain the situation to you all at that time." She stepped into the portal, but her voice echoed through the office one last time, "The enemy we face is greater than any threat you've previously encountered. You will need all the help you can get."

Souji struggled to his feet, finally freeing himself from the grasp of the exuberant young man now sitting on the edge of his desk, all smiles. Izanagi shrugged at him as he glanced quickly around the room. Elizabeth had vanished.

Souji pocketed the obsidian key as Teddie fired questions at him a mile a minute. He smiled at his friend, the first friendly face he'd seen in years. He had some calls to make.

It was time to get the band back together.

* * *

Author's Note:

Alright, my first foray into fanfiction in just about ten years. Also my first fully fleshed out story that I've published. Just a few notes for those of you who may be a bit confused.

This story picks up five years after Persona 4, and I'm going to tie together characters and events from all four Persona games (or five, considering that Persona 2 was actually two separate games: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment). In the first two games, Philemon, who represents the positive elements of the collective human subconscious, gives the player and his or her party the ability to summon multiple Personas. However, he is weakened by the end of P2, and as such only appears in P3 and P4 in his alternate form: a butterfly. Remember the blue butterfly from the beginning of P3 and the save points in P4? That's Philemon.

I've played all four games recently (P3 and P4 multiple times), and I think I'm fairly familiar with the characters, but if my versions seem a little OOC, let me know. Though I think that has to exclude Souji and Naoya (from P1) since they don't have any personality other than what you give them in their games. I've not read the manga for any of the games, so I don't know how the player characters were represented "officially". I am using the manga for the official names of the protagonists, but that's it.

Yes, I'm using Personas instead of Personae as the plural form. I've seen evidence in different places for both being correct, but I don't recall ever seeing "Personae" used in the games. So it's Personas for this story.

Also, I realize this has the premise of a fix-fic, especially since one of my goals is to bring Minato back. Just keep this in mind – nothing can be gained without the appropriate sacrifice. Things are not going to be easy for our heroes, that's for certain.

Thanks for reading, and please review. I'm going to try to put out at least a chapter a week, which may have to fluctuate due to my job, but I will do my best. Reviews give me the motivation to continue, so please let me know what you think of my work!

And…long author's note over!

-Azrael Eternum


	2. Soul Phrase

Persona: Sins of the Fool

By Azrael Eternum

9/26/10

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Shin Megami Tensei or the Persona series. They are the property of Atlus.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Soul Phrase

~January 1st, 2018~

The bartender slid a glass of red wine to the lone woman sitting across from him. She lifted the glass and took a small sip, careful not to spill any on her sweater, though it was already a similar shade. She crossed her black stocking clad legs beneath her black, knee length skirt as she set the glass back on the bar.

"Thank you, Iori-san, the wine is exceptional," she said with a smile, leaning her elbows on the bar.

"Geez, Yukiko-san. How many times do I have to tell you, just call me Junpei," the bartender groaned in frustration, though the silly grin on his face told a different story. "I mean, you guys have been coming in here almost as long as I've been open. We're almost like family by now."

Yukiko laughed. "I think Chidori-san might have some objections to me and Chie joining your family," she joked, "Though I doubt she'd have any problem with Kanji-kun…"

Junpei clutched his chest in a gesture of faked shock. "Madam, you wound me!" Then the sly sparkle reappeared in his eyes. "Though I guess if I'm to have the two of you all to myself, it's only fair that my wife gets her own little bit of fun, right?" he said with a wink and a grin.

Yukiko just rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine. Junpei chuckled and turned around, returning to the arduous work of polishing some mugs. If Yukiko was here, that meant her three friends couldn't be far behind.

"By the way, Yukiko-san, I'm surprised to see you drinking anything at all," Junpei said, continuing to polish. "Normally the hardest stuff you ask for is the soda. Is everything alright?"

Yukiko grimaced behind Junpei. "Nothing's wrong," she sighed, "I just got some startling news today. An old friend of mine is coming back to Inaba. A friend of all of ours, actually. We haven't heard from him in three years."

"That's awesome, though," Junpei cheered. "I know I'd be stoked to be reunited with an old friend like that," he added, turning his head in her direction. "But…the look on your face seems to say otherwise. What happened, he break your heart?"

Yukiko took another drink and forced a smile. "You could say that," she said with a small chuckle. "I'm glad that he's coming, I really am. I'm just not sure what to say to him when he gets here."

Junpei grinned at her. "Well, you just bring him by and good ol' Junpei will knock some sense into him." He flexed his arm for emphasis. "I don't know if you can tell by looking, but I've got a bit of brawling experience left in me. The country life hasn't made me go soft just yet!"

Yukiko laughed openly at that. This took a couple of minutes, so Junpei went back to cleaning. "Thanks, Junpei-san," she said once she'd calmed down. "You're always pretty good at cheering me up." Then it was her turn to adopt a sly grin, "It's a shame you're already married."

"Hey, my previous offer still stands, ma'am," he grinned again. "Seriously though, I'm just glad I could help." He looked towards the door, then back at Yukiko. "So when are those friends of yours supposed to get here? Awfully rude of them to leave a lady like yourself alone at the bar."

As if summoned by Junpei's words, the door slid open and revealed three newcomers. The first, a brown haired young man still clad in his Junes assistant manager's uniform, immediately called out, "Hey barkeep! Two Yebisus, and a water for the lady, stat!" The comment earned him a smack on the back of the head from the short-haired young woman on his right, who was still clad in her Inaba Police uniform.

Junpei nodded, grinning, "Gotcha, three beers coming right up, Hana-chan."

Yosuke facepalmed. "Dammit, Junpei, that's just not funny anymore!"

"It's gonna keep being funny as long as you keep reacting like that, Senpai," said the man to Yosuke's left, striding past the other two and taking a seat at the bar. He ran his hands swiftly up and down the arms of his zipped up leather jacket in a vain attempt at reclaiming body heat lost to the cruel winter winds. "Seriously, Junpei-san, why'd you have to set up shop all the way at the other end of the shopping district? It's fricking freezing out there!"

Yukiko smiled at the man as he struggled to warm his blue jean covered legs. "It's good to see you, Kanji-kun. How were things at the shop today?"

The blond haired man simply shrugged. "Cold," he stated gruffly. "One of the windows needs to be resealed. It's letting in a killer draft." He accepted the overflowing mug Junpei offered with a nod. "I'd fix it myself, but Ma's been kinda under the weather lately, so I've been manning the front for her along with my usual duties."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Yukiko said with a polite nod and smile. "I hope your mother gets to feeling better soon."

At this point, Yosuke and the brown haired officer finally made their way to the two seats between Kanji and Yukiko, allowing the others to catch the last bit of their current argument.

"I wish you'd just never come up with that stupid nickname in the first place," Yosuke griped. "It was bad enough that you insisted on calling me that for a full month after I proposed, but no, you had to go and say it in front of him!" Yosuke exclaimed, gesturing at the bartender even as he accepted two frothy mugs from him. He handed one to the female officer as he continued. "You know he's never gonna let that go."

The woman took the beer offered her and took a sip, draining some of the foam from the top. She eyed Yosuke with a grin. "You never seemed to complain about it when we were alone." Her grin widened and she winked at Junpei with a chuckle. "He still doesn't, by the way."

Yosuke's expression was aghast as the others all burst into laughter. He dropped his head to the bar, covering it with his hands as Junpei guffawed exceptionally loud. "Dammit, Chie! I…dammit!"

As the laughter started to subside, Chie grabbed Yosuke by the shoulder, pulling him up off the bar before lightly kissing his cheek. "Calm down, you silly boy," she said with a smile. "You know I still love you, even if you are a bit shy." That elicited another round of laughter, especially from Yukiko. It was infectious enough that Yosuke couldn't help but join in.

* * *

The four of them sat and drank for a while, catching up on the day's events and bantering with their favorite bartender. Soon, more customers began to trickle in, calling Junpei away from their corner of the bar. Once the barkeep was gone, Yosuke pulled out his phone, setting it on the bar.

"You guys aren't going to believe this," he started, bringing up the call logs on his phone, "but I got a call from Teddie today. He's coming home." Chie and Kanji nearly spit out their drinks, while Yukiko just calmly sipped her glass of wine. Yosuke's grin barely contained his exuberance. Chie spoke up first, quickly swallowing her beer.

"Teddie? Wow, we haven't heard from him in three years. Not since Souji…" she trailed off, glancing at the dark haired girl to her left. She turned back to Yosuke, a serious expression on her face. "Do you think that he…do you think Teddie found him?"

Before Yosuke could answer, Yukiko produced her own phone. "I got this a few hours ago," she said, opening a text message. She lay the phone down in front of Chie without facing the others, opting instead to gaze at the wall behind the bar. Chie quickly lifted the phone, reading the short message before passing it on to Yosuke and Kanji.

The message was short and to the point:

"Everyone

I'm coming home

Souji"

"Geez," Yosuke groaned, rolling his eyes. "Dude disappears for three years, almost four, and this is how he decides to let us know he's alive?" He handed the phone back to Chie before continuing to rant at Kanji, "Son of a bitch still owes me for burning down my apartment three years ago!" Chie noticed that although his words were frustrated and angry, his voice betrayed his true feelings. Yosuke was excited. His best friend was coming back.

Chie wasn't too worried about her fiancé. However, Yukiko was still staring blankly at the bar, eying her empty wine glass. She waved to Junpei as he worked to fill another order and he nodded, placing an open wine bottle on the bar next to her.

The young police officer turned her back to Yosuke, focusing fully on her own best friend. Yukiko gazed forlornly at her phone before placing it back in her purse, lifting her refilled glass to her lips for another sip of wine. "Well," Chie began, "I guess I know why you decided to drink tonight."

Yukiko looked to Chie as if noticing her for the first time. She smiled, somewhat forced, before shaking her head. "It's not as bad as it looks," she said, turning back towards her wine. She swirled the red liquid around in the glass, a faraway look in her eyes. "But it's been three years. That's a pretty long time, right?" She sighed heavily, briefly closing her eyes. "I'm glad he's coming, excited even, I just don't know…" she turned to Chie, who could see the glistening forms of tears beginning to accumulate in her eyes. "What do I do when he gets here? What do I say to him? The truth? Or is that too harsh? I…I just don't know…" she trailed off, a single tear crawling out of each eye and slowly trailing down each cheek.

She quickly wiped her eyes, trying desperately to regain her composure. Turning back toward the bar again, she took her glass in her hands, but didn't drink. Yukiko's body shook lightly as she struggled to hold back the tears that continued to press against her resolve. Chie softly placed an arm around her friend's shoulders, absorbing the subtle quaking of the younger girl's sobs.

* * *

Yukiko had been devastated when Souji disappeared. She'd become incredibly close to the grey haired young man after their adventures in the TV world. Even after he moved away that spring, she'd remained devoted to him. And he was just as devoted. Souji had always made sure to make time for everyone whenever he could visit, but Yukiko had always taken priority. Even with the great distance separating them, Souji and Yukiko's love for each other continued to grow as they progressed through senior year and beyond.

Those years had been tough for Chie, though. Despite knowing of her best friend's feelings for the boy, Chie had fallen hard for Souji during their Investigation Team days. She never acted on it. She knew that Yukiko and Souji were just too well matched, and Chie couldn't stand to see either of them hurt just so she could be happy. This was possibly the only thing that could have ever come between the two girls, and Chie couldn't stand the thought of losing her best friend.

She'd come dangerously close after drunkenly confessing her feelings for Souji to Yukiko at their graduation party. Thankfully, Souji had not been in Inaba at the time, or she may have said something to him directly. Instead, her guilt got the best of her, thanks to Yosuke's spiked punch, and she unloaded her feelings on her best friend. Yukiko was distant for a while after that, but it hadn't taken long for the two to reconcile. Souji and Yukiko continued to grow closer, and Chie was happy for her friends, even if she was still a bit jealous.

Then Souji had started to change. A little over a year after graduation, he began to complain of frequent headaches, and became more and more irritable as time wore on. He'd hide it as best he could when he'd visit them, but they all could tell something was up. It started to wear on Yukiko as well, and after a few months of his condition refusing to improve, she'd suggested he see a doctor. Souji adamantly refused. This became the subject of frequent arguments between the two, the last of which ended with Souji storming out of the Amagi Inn leaving Yukiko behind him in tears. Yukiko hadn't seen or heard from him since.

Chie had, however. That night, he'd gone to meet up with Yosuke, who at the time was always looking for an excuse to party with his best friend. Chie and Kanji had joined them later in the evening to find the two already drunk on cheap liquor, and Yosuke had taken advantage of Chie's competitive nature to convince her to catch up.

Yosuke and Kanji passed out fairly quickly, leaving Chie and Souji alone and drunk in the living room of Yosuke's apartment. For the first time in a while, Souji seemed to be his old self again, though he still couldn't speak without slurring and could barely stand thanks to the alcohol. Chie was happy to have her friend back, glad that he was starting to show signs of recovery.

Thanks to the exorbitant amount of alcohol she'd consumed, Chie hadn't realized what was happening until she was already kissing him. He hadn't reacted at first, but his liquor-addled brain had swiftly kicked any inhibitions to the curb, and he responded with drunken vigor. Before she knew it, Chie was straddling him on the couch, her shirt crumpled on the floor and his quickly joining it. It wasn't long before she was lying back on the couch with Souji on top of her, both drunkenly struggling to wriggle out of the last bits of clothing separating them. They almost succeeded…

And then the fire started.

She'd discovered later that at some point in their frenzy, a lit candle had been knocked off the end table. It had slowly smoldered on the rug as their make-out session escalated until it finally caught. They came to their senses enough to drag the comatose forms of Kanji and Yosuke out into the street while the apartment burned around them. Souji dialed the fire department while she attempted to resuscitate their drunken companions, stealing Yosuke's shirt in the process as other tenants fled the building, desperately trying to preserve the very last shred of her dignity.

The cold air on her skin had brought with it a wave of guilt as the reality of the last few minutes washed over her, leaving an unsettling feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She looked around for Souji, desperate to apologize, to come up with some excuse for her actions, but he was gone.

No one remembered seeing him after that, not even his uncle and little cousin. Chie only vaguely remembered the last thing he'd said before he called for help.

"It's all my fault. God dammit, it's all my fault."

* * *

Chie had never told her friends what had happened that last night with Souji. It was one secret she'd kept from everyone, even Yukiko. Especially Yukiko. The innkeeper's last words to Souji had been said in anger and frustration, and it tore the poor girl up inside that she'd not had a chance to make amends. She sank into a deep depression, burying herself in the day to day operations of the inn. She refused any visitors, even Chie, for over a month after Souji vanished. Chie was partially glad for that, because even though she longed to help her friend cope with Souji's disappearance, she wasn't sure she could face Yukiko after what she'd done.

Souji's disappearing act took its toll on the four friends. Yosuke was almost as upset as Yukiko, claiming that if he'd just been in more control that night he could have prevented the fire and stopped Souji from leaving. His wild partying that had started around high school graduation stopped immediately, replaced instead by a strict devotion to his work. His father, noticing his son's change in priorities, gave him a shot a department manager's position that had opened recently at Junes. Yosuke latched onto quickly, focusing all the energy he used to spend partying into his work and excelled. It took the loss of his best friend, but Yosuke had finally grown up.

Kanji also took it harder than expected. It had only been around a year since he and Naoto had their falling out, which made the loss of his senpai that much harder on him. Not since Naoto had left him and moved to Tokyo had Kanji been that depressed. Like Yukiko and Yosuke, he busied himself with work, volunteering to take on more responsibilities around the textile shop.

Driven by the grief of his friends, Teddie decided to leave Inaba as well. He told Yosuke privately, not wanting to cause any more problems for the already fractured group. Vowing to return only when he'd found his Sensei, Teddie had set out into the world to search for Souji. Yosuke kept Teddie's mission quiet, only telling the others about it months later when things had calmed down.

Having just been admitted to the local police academy, Chie tried to focus on her training as her friends became totally absorbed in their work. When Yukiko called her in tears over a month later, needing the shoulder of her closest friend, Chie had been quick to respond in kind. She listened as Yukiko poured out her sadness and frustration at Souji's disappearance and did her best to offer comfort; all the while fighting with the growing sickness within her that worsened the more Yukiko leaned on her for support.

She buried her guilt deep down, for the first time unable to share her own burdens with Yukiko. Instead, she helped Yukiko shoulder her own burden while trying to take hers all on her own. The pressure built over the next couple of months, until Chie was almost ready to explode with all the pent up guilt and anger at her own actions combined with the pain of betraying her best friend. She needed an outlet, but without Yukiko she had nobody. She began to lose her focus, and with the final days of her academy training just around the corner, Chie was on the brink of failing out.

It was in this condition that Yosuke had found her one night after work while hitting up his favorite hangout, 'Soul Phrase', a new bar owned and operated by a couple that had just moved to Inaba from the city. Chie was seated at the far end of the bar, red-faced with the amount of beer she had consumed. Normally, Yosuke would have jumped right in with her, challenging her to a competition of some kind. It was the easiest way to push her buttons, and he loved to do that, but something was different that night.

Chie drank every once and a while, usually with a group of academy students looking to unwind after a long day of training. That night, however, she drank alone, and from the looks of things she'd been there for a few hours already. She was slumped over on the bar, barely holding her head up, and spilling more beer than she managed to consume. As Yosuke approached, the bartender gently removed the mug from her grip and offered to call her a cab. Chie shot across the bar in a second, and if Yosuke hadn't been just a few feet away he was sure she would have throttled the poor man.

After he'd successfully calmed her down, Yosuke had taken her back to her place and put her to bed, where she'd passed out almost immediately. Not wanting to leave her alone in her condition, he'd sprawled out on the couch for the night.

When Chie had awoken the next morning to find Yosuke snoring in her apartment's living room, she'd finally broken down. The shame of her drunken behavior, combined with the overbearing pressure that had built up in her the last couple of months, finally pushed her over the edge. Yosuke found her sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, her back to the couch as the sound of her sobs filled the room. He didn't say a thing, just sat next to her, put an arm around her shoulders and let her to cry.

* * *

Chie sighed happily to herself as she remembered that first spark in the fire of her relationship with Yosuke. He'd shown her a side of himself she hadn't known existed, a caring and gentle side to which she had slowly grown attached. He had saved her from herself once again, just as he and Souji had saved her years before in the TV world.

Chie and Yosuke's budding relationship had even served as the catalyst that brought their little group back together. It was around that time that the four of them started their tradition of meeting up at Soul Phrase once a week to have drinks, catch up, and just enjoy each other's company. The wounds of the past few months had begun to heal, and the four friends continued growing up. At the same time, the nature of Chie and Yosuke's relationship began to shift, and soon their friendship had become intimate.

By the end of the year, they were officially a couple, and almost two years later Yosuke had proposed. Chie smiled to herself as she remembered that night just three months ago, especially the embarrassed look on Yosuke's face as he tried desperately to sound like a seasoned romantic and just ended up sounding cheesy. He'd apologized over and over for sounding like an idiot, but Chie hadn't cared. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered. She'd said 'yes' without a second thought.

A muffled sniff from Yukiko brought Chie's focus back to the present. Yukiko sat up straight, allowing Chie to rest her arm back on the bar. The dark haired girl smiled at her best friend, a silent thank you for her support. Chie smiled back.

"Don't worry, Yukiko, I'm sure everything will be fine," Chie said quietly, noticing that conversation between Yosuke and Kanji had ceased. "Just tell him how you feel. I bet Souji will find a way to make it up to you." Her smile changed to an evil grin, "Besides, if he doesn't give you a good explanation for these past three years, the three of us will beat the crap out of him for you."

"You got that right!" Yosuke declared loudly, drawing some glances from the other patrons and a grin from Junpei. A little quieter, he continued, "I won't let anybody get away with hurting one of my friends, not even the great Souji Seta. I'll kick his city boy ass!" The others nodded in agreement before bursting into another round of mirthful laughter. They were ready to welcome their friend back with open arms.

* * *

A few hours later, the four of them bid farewell to Junpei and ventured out into the cold night air once again. The icy wind whipped around them, biting at their hands and faces, but they hardly noticed. They stayed close together, happily laughing and reminiscing, sharing fond memories of their times together. They traveled as a group to the edge of the dark shopping district, bidding farewell as they went their separate ways.

Yukiko waved to the others as she made her way alone towards the Amagi Inn. Reaching into her purse, she once again retrieved her phone, still open to the text she had received from Souji. She closed the message, opening the one that had come in immediately after it. She smiled as she read the words displayed on the small screen:

"Yukiko

I'm so sorry…more than you would believe

We'll talk more when I arrive, if you'll have me

I've missed you…I love you

Souji"

She closed her phone, smiling. When she'd left to meet her friends, she'd been confused and upset, with old wounds threatening to split open. But thanks to Chie's silent support and the reassurance of her friends, she could see everything clearly once again. She knew what she would do when Souji arrived.

"I'll see you soon, Souji," she whispered, her breath freezing in the cold winter night.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Author's Note:

Here's hoping that all the Chie fans out there don't hate me right now…

I hope this chapter wasn't too jarring with the extensive flashbacks. I wanted to get all my readers up to speed on the current status of the Investigation Team, and give a bit of backstory on what they've been up to since the end of P4. I also wanted to set up the basis for Yosuke and Chie's relationship without just saying "Oh, they're together now, it seemed like a good idea." I wanted it to have some meaning to it.

Already working on ideas for the next chapter. We're going to catch up with Naoto in Tokyo, and the action is going to pick up there. If you thought this chapter was boring, I'll make it up to you with the next one, I promise. Don't know if Rise will make an appearance in that one, but she will soon. After that, well, I don't want to spoil things for you too much.

As always, let me know if you think I'm butchering the characters. I think I've done a decent job bringing them from the end of P4 to where they are now intact for the most part, but please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated; it's the only way a writer can improve.

Also, a huge thank you to Astrih Konnash, Xoraan, KeRose, LardBucket, and that one chicken for reviewing chapter one. Thanks so much you guys, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

That's it for me, see you next time!

-Azrael Eternum


	3. Blue Shift

Persona: Sins of the Fool

By Azrael Eternum

10/4/10

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Shin Megami Tensei or the Persona series. They are the property of Atlus.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Blue Shift

~January 1st, 2018~

"Thanks for your business, ma'am, have a nice night!" The clerk bowed deeply as Naoto Shirogane retrieved the two cups of coffee from the counter with a polite nod. The detective stopped as the automatic doors slid open, sighing in frustration. It was impossible to distinguish individual rain drops from the deluge that washed over Tokyo tonight. She looked down at herself, noting with disdain that her trademark blue jacket was already drenched.

"It can't get any worse, I guess," she muttered, sprinting out the door towards the dark blue sedan parked three spots down from the convenience store entrance. The passenger door popped open as she approached, allowing her to dive in without fumbling the coffee.

"Thanks," she said with and exasperated sigh. She rested the hot beverages in the two cup holders near the dash, freeing her hands to wring the water out of her short hair. "Honestly, I've got more detective work under my belt than people twice my age, but somehow I still end up on coffee duty. How is that?"

The driver chuckled, retrieving one of the paper cups and taking a careful sip before returning it to the cup holder to cool. "If memory serves, you volunteered for this job Shirogane-san. Don't blame me for taking advantage of seniority." He stretched as best he could within the confines of the car, his gloved hands coming to rest behind his head of silver hair. "Besides, I had to do plenty of coffee runs when I was the new guy. It's a right of passage all junior detectives have to deal with, even ones from famous families." He grinned at her with that cocky grin of his that always warmed her a little inside, a sensation which she paid little attention. Instead she rolled her eyes and took a drink of her coffee as her partner and senior officer drove the car onto Tokyo's rain slick streets.

"Still, I can't believe they've got us covering a simple burglary case our first day back on the job," the silver haired man groaned, loosening the red tie around his neck slightly without taking his eyes off the road. "I mean, seriously, I've been stuck in bed for a month! I'm ready for some action."

She smiled wryly. "I have a feeling that we've been assigned to this case specifically to avoid action." She took another sip of her coffee, hissing slightly as the steaming liquid made contact with her rain chilled lips. "We were both off our feet for a month. The chief just wants to give us a chance to recuperate a bit."

"Heh, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though." The driver smirked. "Still, anything beats being trapped in that hospital bed." He chuckled lightly to himself, rolling his shoulders underneath his black blazer. "At least I had the most overqualified detective on the force to keep me company."

Naoto smiled, thankful of her partner's positive outlook. She, too, was glad to be up and about again after a month in the hospital. Since coming to the Tokyo Police Department three years ago, she'd been bounced back and forth between departments constantly until she finally landed a detective spot three months ago. With her qualifications, she could have walked on to the force as a senior detective, but the chief insisted that she prove herself as a uniformed officer first.

"I'm just glad I'm not stuck directing traffic anymore," she smiled again as her partner burst out laughing. That warm tingling in her chest was back…she ignored it. "It's not that funny, Sanada-san."

He covered his mouth with one hand to hide his smirk, still chuckling lightly. "I'm sorry; I just still have a hard time picturing you as a traffic cop." He lowered his hand again, reaching for his coffee, "And c'mon, call me Akihiko. You constantly calling me 'Sanada-san' makes me feel old. I'm not that much older than you."

Naoto just kept smiling to herself, happy with the rapport she'd established with her partner in just a few months. When she'd started working with Akihiko Sanada, he was a no-nonsense, hard-nosed senior detective who had spent the last seven years working to the bone to earn his rank. He never joked, never even seemed to smile, and never discussed anything that wasn't work related. Their relationship was always strictly professional and they operated smoothly and efficiently, even if the conversation was a bit dull.

Then the accident happened.

* * *

~November 27th, 2017~

They were lucky that someone had discovered the bombs before they went off. A terrorist group had set up explosives all across downtown Tokyo rigged with enough incendiary material to burn half a city block. The bomb squad was taking care of the explosives, and the majority of the terrorists had been apprehended. However, the leader was still at large. Akihiko and Naoto had tracked him to the slums and had him cornered in a derelict apartment high rise.

"Be advised, suspect is armed and should be approached with extreme caution. Backup is on the way, ETA 15 minutes. Over," the voice of the dispatcher crackled over Akihiko's hand radio. Naoto drew her revolver and pressed herself against the wall to the right of the entrance while Akihiko mirrored her action on the other side, readying his semiautomatic.

"Roger that," Akihiko spoke briskly into the radio, "Suspect has fled into the old apartment complex. We are in pursuit. Out." He nodded as Naoto took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She returned the nod, signaling Akihiko to deftly kick open the door, gun at the ready. He quickly surveyed the immediate area as he advanced into the building, Naoto close behind and covering his back. The lobby was clear. With the elevator out of commission, the only ways up were two sets of stairs leading to opposite wings of the building.

"Alright, Shirogane, time to split up. You take the east wing, I've got the west. Radio in if you encounter the suspect, and make sure to check in regularly, got it?"

"Affirmative, sir," she nodded. They sprinted in opposite directions, taking the stairs and slowly working their way up the building.

They climbed slowly but efficiently, careful to clear each floor of their respective wings before heading to the next. The complex was actually two separate buildings connected by a common lobby, so they had no direct contact as they ascended the high-rise. Naoto had reached the 7th floor of her wing with no results. Akihiko's voice crackled over her radio as she advanced, indicating that he'd just cleared the 7th floor on his end and was heading up.

As she neared the end of the floor, she noticed one door with a relatively new lock installed. She approached carefully, her senses on high alert. The lock was undone, but the door was still latched. She pressed herself against the wall next to it, listening intently for the slightest sound.

A light click was the only warning she received before the door across the hall exploded out from its frame, blasting across the hall and missing Naoto by scant inches. As she dove out of the way, the loud crack of gunfire rang out from the damaged doorway. Naoto grit her teeth hard as she felt a bullet slice across her upper arm, cutting away at the top layers of flesh and quickly soaking her sleeve as blood flowed from the wound. She rolled to her feet, clear of the door, and raised her gun again, hissing as the damaged muscle in her arm protested.

"Police!" she shouted, "Drop your weapon and come out now!"

Laughter echoed inside the room, but there was no other response except a few more bullets embedding themselves in the smoldering wood where Naoto had been standing only a few seconds before. She reached down with her wounded arm to grab her radio. "Suspect located on the seventh floor of the east wing, room 724. Suspect is armed with a low caliber pistol and explosives."

"I'm on my way," came Akihiko's voice from the radio. "There's a connecting bridge on the tenth floor not too far from my location. Try to keep him pinned down 'till I get there."

"Yes, sir," Naoto replied, quickly pressing herself against the wall about a foot from the empty doorframe. She returned the radio to her belt, leaving the channel open just in case. She took a deep breath to steady herself, ignoring the stabbing pain in her left bicep. The familiar resonance of her Persona echoed in her mind, and she felt the cool burn against her skin as the card for Yamato-Takeru materialized in her pocket. She reached into her pocket and squeezed, briefly summoning her Persona in the open doorway. More shots rang out, followed by the dry click of an empty magazine and a loud string of curses.

Naoto wasted no time sprinting around the corner, her gun at the ready. The culprit tossed his empty clip aside and was loading another when Naoto fired. The bullet lodged in the man's shoulder, staggering him, and a swift kick from the detective sent his gun flying across the room. She spun the man around and gripped his wrist behind his back, slamming him face-first into the back wall of the ruined apartment. He screamed at the sudden pressure against his wounded shoulder, but only smiled as she fastened the handcuffs around his wrists.

Akihiko was running towards her from the far end of the hall as Naoto led the terrorist out of the dark room. The criminal's grin only widened as Akihiko approached.

"This our guy?" Akihiko asked as he neared the two. Naoto nodded.

"I believe so, but we should clear the rest of the building just in case," Naoto observed. "He could have more accomplices."

Akihiko nodded. "Alright, I'll take care of the last few floors. Get him outside. Backup should be here by now, so have someone run him in." He glared at the terrorist. "You'll be going away for a long time, pal."

The terrorist laughed out loud, surprising the two detectives. He grinned madly. "I'm afraid I won't live that long. But at least I'll get to take you two bastards with me." The shackled man bit down hard, breaking through a false tooth and activating the trigger underneath.

Naoto heard a faint beeping noise coming from beneath the terrorist's shirt. Her eyes widened, but there was no time to react. Incendiary charges around the terrorist's waist exploded in a raging ball of flame, sending the detectives flying.

Pain coursed through Naoto's small frame as her body smashed through the wall, shattering her ribs. The fire singed her clothes and left minor burns all across her body, but thanks to her Persona did little lasting damage. She landed hard on her already wounded arm, dislocating her shoulder and fracturing the bone. Gasping in agony, Naoto tried to rise; succeeding only in rolling onto her good shoulder as her other arm flopped lifelessly in front of her. She pushed herself to her feet, unable to cry out and barely able to breathe.

Fire roared all around her as she finally regained her balance. She was a wreck, but as long as she could get out of this building she would survive. A sudden rumbling signaled danger overhead, but Naoto could barely move in her condition. The burning support beam swung down from the ceiling, slamming into the back of her head before she had a chance to evade. Blackness took her before she hit the floor.

* * *

Naoto hadn't expected to ever open her eyes again, so the blinding hospital lights and the headache they brought with them were a welcome punishment. She tried to sit up until a sudden pain in her chest sent her back to the bed with a sharp hiss.

"You're finally awake," Akihiko's voice came from across the room. She turned her head slightly to see him sitting up in the next bed. Bandages covered his right cheek and down his neck. His right arm was in a sling and Naoto recognized the bulky form of a cast under the covers around the lower half of his right leg.

"How long was I out?" Naoto asked groggily, cringing at the croaking sound that came out in place of her voice.

"A couple of days. They rushed you into surgery as soon as we got here. Apparently one of your four broken ribs put a hole in one of your lungs, while the others did some serious damage to your internal organs." Akihiko's expression darkened. "The doctors didn't think you were going to make it. It's a goddamn miracle you survived."

Naoto coughed, feeling her chest strain against the bandages wrapped around her torso. "What happened?" she choked out through her dry, scratchy throat. God, she could use some water right about now.

"The bastard had the whole place rigged. He must have planned to use that apartment as a hideout from the start. That's the only way I can figure that we missed all the explosives on the first floor," Akihiko looked down at the bed, a defeated frown on his face. "The blast caught us both off guard. I was lucky enough to be blown down the hallway instead of through a wall. Got some nasty burns," he said, gesturing to the bandages on his face, "but that was the worst of it. Thankfully, I was able to get to you and carry you downstairs before the fire spread too far, but the bastard had set up more incendiaries on the first floor. I couldn't get out by the stairs, so I had to jump out a window, hence the broken bones."

About a thousand questions ran through Naoto's head, but her throat refused to let her voice them all and she could feel her body fading back into unconsciousness. So instead she smiled, whispering, "Thanks for saving me."

Akihiko smiled sadly. "I made a promise long ago to not let any more of my friends die." He started to say something else, but Naoto was already asleep.

* * *

When Naoto woke again, her throat felt much better. Akihiko was reclining in his own bed, flipping through the channels on the TV. She cleared her throat, drawing his attention away from the television. He grinned, switching the TV off and tossing the controller to the side.

"Finally, I've been getting bored just sitting here with nothing to do. The doctors won't let me get up and walk around, even with crutches. How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said quietly, still wishing she could sit up. "Though I'll have to apologize, I don't think I'll be able to entertain you at the moment."

Akihiko chuckled. "Don't worry about that, I'm just looking for someone to talk to. I tend to get a little stir crazy when I can't be active for long periods, so I need some way to vent. And as it seems we're both going to be here for a while, I figured we might as well get to know each other." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Can you believe it, I've worked with you for almost two months now and the only thing I know about you is your name. Hell, I didn't even know you were a woman."

Naoto felt her face warm almost instantly with the heat of a blush. She looked down as best she could and noticed for the first time that while the doctors had heavily bandaged her torso, they had removed the wrappings she used to keep her breasts hidden. Even with the loose fitting hospital gown concealing most of her feminine curves, her ample chest was fairly obvious in her current position.

Akihiko could easily see her embarrassment and frantically added, "Not that you being a woman is important or anything. I mean, that wasn't what I was interested in...I mean, it's not what I was asking about. I just wanted to learn more about you...ah, I mean..." His hands were desperately scratching the back of his neck, as if the solution to his awkwardness was hidden just beneath the surface.

Naoto smiled at her partner's embarrassment. He was kind of cute, she had to admit. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

Akihiko shrugged, composing himself. "I don't know, I didn't think that far into it. Though I guess you could explain to me how one of the famous Shirogane detectives came to work for the Tokyo PD."

Naoto's gaze turned towards the ceiling. "Let's just say I've had my share of run-ins with the police over the years. Even when I was helping to solve important cases, they always treated me like an outsider and a hindrance. I was baffled by their attitude. What kind of pride causes a person to reject help in something as important as upholding the law?" She looked towards Akihiko, who was staring back at her intently. He nodded, signaling her to continue.

"I never could understand that feeling while working as a detective outside the police force," she said. "So after I finished school, I applied to the academy and joined the Tokyo Police Department. I believed that if I spent time working with other police officers as one of their own, I would be better prepared to interact with them as an independent detective."

Akihiko nodded. "That makes sense," he said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I know that I'm glad to have you on the team. Heh, you could probably teach me a thing or two about doing my job."

Naoto felt a smile grow across her face. "What about you?" she asked. "What brought you into this line of work?"

"That's simple," he said with a confident smile. "I want to protect people. A long time ago, I lost my sister and two close friends because I wasn't able to protect them. I joined the force right out of high school, hoping it would give me the power not only to protect others, but also to save their friends and family from having to deal with that kind of loss." Akihiko's eyes had a distant look to them, but he smiled all the same.

"I'm so sorry," Naoto breathed, "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

Akihiko waved her off with his good arm, still smiling. "Don't worry about it. A good friend of mine taught me that dwelling on the past only hurts you in the long run. He taught me to use it as a motivator instead, as a driving force to make the future better than the past. And that's exactly what I'm doing." He looked towards the ceiling, that distant look appearing in his eyes again. "Besides, they're all watching over me. I can't have them seeing me moping about over something I can't change."

* * *

~January 1st, 2018~

That month in the hospital had passed quickly, and the two partners had slowly become good friends. The doctors were astounded by how quickly they had healed, especially Naoto. She knew that she had her Persona to thank for that. In fact, without Yamato-Takeru's power, she more than likely would have died in the blast. She tried not to think about that, she had other things to worry about.

Especially the robbery case, which had just gotten a lot more interesting.

"Run that by me again?" Akihiko asked. The rain continued to cascade down on all sides, though this time Naoto and Akihiko were protected by an umbrella. The uniformed officer they were speaking with was not so fortunate.

"Officer Sakamoto was investigating the interior of the building," the officer repeated, gesturing towards the two story house surrounded by police tape. His face looked pale in the reflection of the blue and red lights from nearby police cruisers. "He was supposed to report in five minutes ago, but now he won't respond. I was about to go check on him when you arrived."

"What's the situation inside the house," Naoto asked the shivering officer.

The man shrugged. "That's another weird thing. Whoever did this was methodical, only taking items of value and leaving everything else in order. But when we checked the bedroom, it was like a typhoon had ripped through. Like he got in a hurry and started ransacking the place. Not to mention that some very obvious valuables in that room were left untouched or strewn about on the floor."

"You think something spooked him?" Akihiko interjected.

"No idea, but there's nothing else in the house. Neighbors said they haven't seen the owners in about a week. They're supposedly on vacation, but we haven't been able to contact them, either." The officer shivered. "Kinda spooky if you ask me."

Akihiko nodded. "Alright, we'll check it out. Let's go Naoto."

"I've got your back," she replied.

Once inside, Naoto knew something wasn't right. There was a familiar warmth in the back of her mind, a sensation she'd not experienced in over five years. She felt Yamato-Takeru's card materialize in her pocket, another ill omen. But there was no way; it was probably just nerves. It was her first day back, after all. Her Persona was just reacting to those feelings.

Akihiko seemed oddly apprehensive as well. She was surprised to notice him holster his gun. Even more so when he reached into his blazer and removed a small, silver pistol that she'd never seen before.

"Stay close," they said in unison. Akihiko smirked and Naoto rolled her eyes as they continued through the entrance hall, opting to stick together as they explored.

The house was devoid of any signs of life. No sign of the residents or the missing Officer Sakamoto. They slowly worked their way around until they reached the stairs. The heavy feeling in the air intensified as Naoto climbed. Akihiko followed closely, his eyes focused on the path behind them. The air was becoming harder to breathe. To Naoto it seemed like they were climbing a mountain, not a short flight of stairs. They reached the top, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Their first stop was the bedroom. At a glance, the room seemed empty. Then they noticed the sound. A wet, tearing and smacking sound, like an animal ripping meat from a fresh kill, echoed from the opposite side of the queen size bed in the center of the room. Naoto gasped as she rounded the corner of the bed.

They had found Officer Sakamoto.

The officer lay on his back, his mouth hanging open and his glazed over eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. A black, tar like substance was oozing out of every orifice on the man's head. That wasn't the worst of it.

The worst part was the black, amorphous shape with glowing yellow eyes that was slowly consuming the substance that was leaking from the comatose policeman.

"Impossible!" Naoto exclaimed, reaching into her pocket for Yamato-Takeru. The Shadow growled, turning towards the fresh prey that had just wandered into its hunting grounds. Naoto fired two shots into the creature's bulbous body, causing it to disperse and slowly begin to reform.

"Shit!" Akihiko yelled, catching Naoto's attention. Another Shadow had emerged from the attached bathroom, catching them both off guard. With the close proximity, Akihiko forwent his gun and launched a heavy punch into the black creature. Naoto's eyes widened as she witnessed electricity arcing around his fist, exploding the Shadow with a burst of lightning.

Questions would have to wait, as the Shadow in front of her had finished reforming. A blue mask sat atop a giant hand that stood before her on two of its large fingers. It jumped into the air, flipping over and snapping its fingers, blasting Naoto to the ground with a gust of wind.

She flipped the card from her pocket into the air, putting a bullet through it as the Persona card passed between her and the Shadow. The slightly insect-like form of Yamato-Takeru appeared before her, charged with a bright light. White seal cards appeared all around the Shadow. With no way out of its corner, the seals quickly affixed to the Shadow, banishing it from the world of the living.

She quickly turned to assist Akihiko, who was now grappling with a large, muscular looking Shadow. Another dropped from the ceiling between the two, already in the form of a lantern-headed creature shrouded in a green cape. The phantom-like creature began to glow with dark energy, and a black circle appeared on the ground below Akihiko.

"Get out of the way!" Naoto screamed, diving towards her partner, she successfully knocked him out of the way and absorbed the blow, which dissipated harmlessly thanks to her Persona's resistances.

"I've had enough," Akihiko yelled, once again retrieving the strange silver pistol from within his jacket. Naoto dodged a strike from the muscular Shadow, but ended up too far away to intervene. She watched in horror as Akihiko raise the pistol to his head.

"Akihiko-san, don't!" she screamed, summoning Yamato-Takeru's card into her hand.

She wasn't fast enough. Akihiko pulled the trigger.

Shards of broken glass seemed to fly out of Akihiko's head, coming together into a white, caped figure holding a globe in one hand and a sword in the other.

"Caesar!" Akihiko called from the floor, pointing at the Shadows. "Maziodyne!" The white figure raised its sword, summoning heavily charged bolts of electricity that obliterated the phantom Shadow and left its muscular friend paralyzed. Naoto took the opportunity to line up a shot, putting a bullet squarely between the eyes of the Shadow's mask. The mask split down the middle, and the Shadow dissipated along with it.

Naoto jumped over the bed, quickly helping Akihiko to his feet. "What are the odds," he said as he dusted off his blazer. "So how long have you been a Persona user?"

Naoto flipped open her revolver and began replacing the spent bullets. "A little over six years. What about you?"

Akihiko rolled his shoulders, hopping back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Almost eleven years now."

Naoto nodded, snapping the chamber of her gun into place. "I have plenty of questions for you, and I'm sure you have a number for me, but let's wait until we're sure that was the last of the Shadows in this place."

As if summoned by her words, the interior wall came crashing down as a giant metal orb with a mask crashed through, sending chunks of wood and drywall flying through the bedroom. The masked ball slammed into Akihiko, throwing him into Naoto and sending both to the ground in a heap.

Before they could successfully disentangle themselves, a large, silver lion jumped through the hole following the metal globe. A black, metal chain was affixed to its collar, leashing it to the masked orb. It growled over them, raising a clawed paw to strike the fallen detectives. Akihiko quickly rolled on top of Naoto, intent on absorbing the attack. The lion brought the claws down with a furious roar.

"Zandyne!"

The creature froze as an invisible force passed through its body, shredding it into thousands of pieces in seconds. The Shadow evaporated like the others, leaving no trace except for the damage.

Naoto opened her eyes to see Akihiko staring back at her, inches from her face. Akihiko suddenly blushed and quickly rolled to one side and away from the equally embarrassed young woman. As they stood to brush themselves off, a man stepped through the doorway, clapping his gloved hands.

"Well, well, what a surprise," the man said, stepping into the light. He had straight, black hair that ran all the way down to the small of his back. A dark pair of goggles covered his aged face and he wore a suit and pants similar to Naoto's, but of a burnt gold color instead of blue. "I come here to investigate these monsters that have been popping up all over town, and what do I find but two Persona summoners."

"Did you take out that Shadow?" Akihiko asked as he entered a defensive position, evoker in hand. Naoto mirrored his stance, summoning Yamato-Takeru's card into her hand.

The mysterious man just snapped his fingers and a blue aura surrounded him. A heavily armored figure appeared above his head. The figure's arms were crossed and its eyes glared daggers at the detectives. The man lowered his hand and the figure disappeared along with the aura surrounding him.

"Prometheus," the man said, "my Persona. Now, if you two wouldn't mind, I need you to come with me."

"Why would we do that when we don't even know who you are?" Naoto asked, squeezing the card in her hand a bit tighter. "For all we know, you could be the one that summoned those Shadows."

"I could say the same thing from my perspective, but no matter," the man shrugged, smiling. "I gave up my true name a long time ago, but you can call me Baofu. I'm with the Kuzunoha Detective Agency."

"No way," Akihiko growled. "The Kuzunoha's are a myth. There's no history of any clan or family with that name."

"You're wrong," Naoto said quietly. "They're real. My grandfather spoke of them often. His brother, my great-uncle, was a ranking member."

Baofu nodded. "I see the girl has done her homework. Your great-uncle was the last Shirogane to earn a Kuzunoha name, Raidou Kuzunoha the Fourteenth." The blue aura appeared around him again. "Now, I'm sorry to do this, but I'm in a rush, and you two don't look very cooperative. Prometheus, Magic Seal."

The armored Persona appeared again, casting blue waves of light over the pair. Naoto felt her legs collapse under her as she suddenly became too tired to stand. She fought with all her might to retain consciousness, but to no avail. As her eyes began to close, she heard Baofu call out to someone nearby.

"Hey, Ulala, I need a hand in here. This guy looks pretty heavy."

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow… Long chapter is long. This one's a good three to four pages (in Word) longer than the last two.

I've never been a big Naoto fan, so she's probably the character I'm least confident in writing for. Don't get me wrong, I think Naoto's pretty damn awesome, but she's just always taken a backseat to Chie and Yukiko (my two favorite P4 girls). As always, if characters seem way off, let me know and tell me why they seem that way. I'll do my best to fix it.

This chapter took forever to write. I have little experience writing action scenes, so those were a challenge. I think I rewrote each action sequence at least twice. Add work this week keeping me out of town and away from my computer for two days leads to me posting this at 1am Monday morning. Thank God I've got the day off tomorrow!

Once again, I'd like to thank Fan of Fanfics21, Xoraan, that one chicken, eggmiester, KeRose, Gryphon117, Coldman9, and RandowReview (whoever you are) for reviewing chapter 2! Thanks so much you guys! I'm glad you've liked the story so far, and I hope I can continue to fulfill your Persona fanfic needs. (At least until SamJaz gets going on that sequel to Fairly English Story. I eagerly await new chapters, sir)

We're done with history chapters for now. Next up, we're going to catch up with Souji as he prepares to leave for Japan. I have a feeling he's going to have a hard time catching his flight.

Until then, thanks for reading! Please review and let me know how I'm doing. Constructive criticism is always welcome and encouraged. Have a good week!

-Azrael Eternum

Edit (10/17/2010): Changed some spelling errors. Also added a few sentences in the hospital scene about Akihiko discovering that Naoto is female. Removed a sentence in the robbery scene that distracted from the mood. Also adjusted the reference to Raidou Kuzunoha XIV to make it a bit more in line with canon for Devil Summoner.


	4. Desperate Escape

Persona: Sins of the Fool

By Azrael Eternum

10/16/10

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Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Shin Megami Tensei or the Persona series. They are the property of Atlus.

* * *

Chapter 4 – Desperate Escape

~January 1st, 2018~

For the first time in almost a year, Souji wasn't hung over. However, due to his newest companion's untamed exuberance, Souji still felt like his head was cracking open. After the events of the previous evening, he had rushed to his tiny apartment to prepare for his return to Japan. The process should have only taken about two hours or so, as Souji had little to his name and even less to pack.

It takes a bit longer when you have an easily excited young boy/bear creature/shadow, weighing in at somewhere close to 10 tons by Souji's measure, hanging around your neck.

In the twelve hours since his midnight arrival, Teddie had refused to let Souji out of his sight. It took Souji almost half an hour after getting home to convince the blonde that he wasn't going to disappear again, and that Teddie should let go of his sensei's leg and help pack instead. The bear's child-like curiosity also ran rampant, forcing Souji to repack his suitcase multiple times as Teddie continually got a hold of something that should've gone in the suitcase or packed something that wasn't necessary for the trip.

The blonde boy didn't seem to have aged a day since their adventures in Inaba. At some point after Souji left, Teddie had traded his fluffy shirt and slacks for a more casual t-shirt and jeans combo, but otherwise looked exactly as he had six years ago. Souji was grateful for this as they entered their terminal at JFK International Airport. Keeping Teddie under control was stressful enough without him drawing even more attention with his unusual fashion sense.

Souji sighed as he glanced at his watch. It was about a quarter till one, just a little over an hour until their two-o-clock flight to Japan. Getting through airport security had gone a lot quicker than he imagined, and now the pair was stuck in the terminal with nothing to do. He considered calling his uncle to let him know he was on his way before remembering that it was somewhere around two in the morning in Inaba.

"I guess I'll just have to surprise him," Souji murmured with a shrug.

"Sensei, let's get something to eat," Teddie said with his usual bright smile, tugging on Souji's sleeve like an excited child. "I'm starving!"

"Sure, let's eat," Souji said. He couldn't help but smile, warmed by his friend's unwavering acceptance. He was glad that even after everything that had happened, Teddie still treated him the same way he always had. No questions about why he'd left or what he'd done, just the usual overflowing happiness that had always followed in Teddie's wake.

"I think I saw a café back towards the terminal entrance, if you're interested," spoke a calm voice from behind Souji. He quickly glanced back, seeing Izanagi pointing back in the direction they'd come from. Souji nodded in response, not wanting Teddie to see him talking to the voices in his head. Izanagi didn't seem terribly concerned, following them quietly as the pair purchased some overpriced sandwiches and drinks.

"I'm so excited, Sensei! Everyone's going to be so happy to see you! We've all missed you so much," Teddie rambled between bites of his sandwich. "Ooh, that reminds me, we need to call Naoto-chan and Rise-chan. They'll want to come see you, too! I wish I had one of those cell phone things, but Yosuke was afraid I'd call people too much. What's wrong with wanting to talk to my friends?" Teddie pouted for barely a second before taking another huge bite of his sandwich. He smiled happily again. "I know! You should call them, Sensei!"

Souji finish taking a drink of his coffee before replying, "Didn't you ask Yosuke to do that when you called him last night?"

"I know, but Yosuke's lazy, he'll never get it done," Teddie said, crossing his arms in frustration. "Besides, don't you think they'd be even more excited to come if the call came from you?"

Souji quickly took another drink of coffee, trying to come up with an explanation that Teddie would understand. He didn't know how to explain how awkward it felt for him to call one of his former teammates. That was why he'd had Teddie call Yosuke from his office phone instead of calling himself. It had even taken him almost an hour just to get up the courage to send Yukiko a text, and almost as long to man up and send her the second, more personal one.

Thankfully, Mother Nature intervened on his behalf. Teddie's eyes widened as the blonde quickly squeezed his legs together. He scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly, "Umm, Sensei, I need to use the bathroom."

Souji chuckled, glad to put off that conversation for a bit longer. "Alright, c'mon," he said, grabbing a to-go lid for his coffee. "Grab your drink, I'll show you where to go."

He quickly led the young man to one of the nearby public restrooms. Surprisingly, it was empty when they arrived, allowing Teddie his choice of stalls. The boy quickly picked one and ran inside, closing the door behind him. Souji laughed to himself at the loud, contented sigh that came from Teddie's stall a moment later. Souji decided he might as well take advantage of the facilities, since he was already here. He was just finishing with washing his hands when Teddie emerged, a satisfied smile on his face.

"That's better," the bear said with a sigh. "Now we can…"

Teddie was cut off by a sudden rumbling from within the building. The ground shook beneath them, knocking both young men to the floor. Souji braced himself against the side of the counter while Teddie hung on to the stall door for dear life.

"What's going on, Sensei?" Teddie yelled, his eyes wide in surprise. Before Souji could reply, the rumbling stopped as abruptly as it had started. They both tentatively climbed to their feet.

"Do you normally get earthquakes here, Sensei?" Teddie asked, brushing himself off. Souji shook his head, a concerned look on his face.

"No, we don't," he replied, glancing back to Izanagi standing in the corner. The Persona had his sword at the ready, which could only mean something bad was happening. "Something's not right," Souji said, gesturing towards the door. "C'mon, let's go see what's up."

The two emerged to a remarkable sight. The airport terminal was completely devoid of life. Not only that, but the architecture had been altered, forming a maze like structure among the empty shops and kiosks that littered the building. An oppressive weight filled the air, and Souji instinctively reached for his sidearm before remembering he'd left it behind rather than deal with the security hassle of flying it to Japan. "What the hell's going on?" he asked the empty halls, chills coursing down his spine.

Teddie stepped up next to him, the card for Kamui gripped tightly in his hand. "It feels like there's something close by, Sensei," the boy growled, squeezing his Persona card. "I don't know what it is, but it's nothing like the Shadows we've fought before." Souji nodded. He attempted to will Izanagi's card into being, but this only served to increase the pain in his skull.

"Great," Souji muttered, "It looks like it's on you to protect us, Teddie. I can't summon my Persona for some reason." He quickly glanced around, trying to get his bearings in the altered building. "There was a security station near the entrance to the terminal. If we can get back there then we should be able to get a better picture of what's happening. At the very least, there should be something we can use to fight."

"Got it, Sensei," Teddie affirmed with a nod. They set out in the general direction of the security checkpoint, slowly navigating the twists and turns of the terminal turned labyrinth. Though the malevolent presence seemed to permeate the entire structure, the pair encountered no resistance as they proceeded. Souji noticed Izanagi was keeping pace with them, watching behind them while Teddie kept his eyes forward.

"Wonderful," Souji thought silently. "My hallucination is watching our back. Maybe he'll at least speak up before something gets the drop on us."

It wasn't long before they rounded a corner and found themselves at the security station. The hallway came to an end here; they would have to backtrack, but at least they'd found something. Souji quickly grasped the handle, pulling the door open quickly and stepping right into a wall.

"Ow, what the hell?" he said rubbing his already throbbing head. Souji stepped back from the door, examining the wall in front of him. "Well, shit," he groaned, "This doesn't bode well."

The door to the security office was completely intact, as was the doorframe. However, it seemed that the room behind the door was missing, replaced by a blank wall identical to the surrounding structure. Souji pressed his hands against the blank surface inside the door and pushed as hard as he could. It didn't budge, even as Souji slammed his fist against it in frustration.

"Well that's just great," Souji grumbled. He struggled to summon Izanagi's card again, but to no avail. "Still no luck with summoning, either. Let's just look for a way out of here, Teddie."

"Umm, Sensei," Teddie stammered behind him. "We've got a bit of a problem here."

Souji spun around quickly as a sickly groan echoed from behind him. Teddie stood in a defensive stance next to Souji, his Persona card at the ready, as a zombie-like creature rounded the corner. Souji's eyes widened as he recognized the monster. It was nearly identical to Ghoul, one of his old Personas.

The creature's red eyes locked onto Souji just before the creature charged. It let out a hissing scream, saliva dripping from its jagged teeth.

"Kamui!" Teddie yelled, smashing the card between his hands. The machine-like Persona appeared above Teddie, clapping its claws together as a block of ice surrounded the Ghoul, stopping the creature in its tracks. The summoned bear creature swiped at the Ghoul with its sharp claws, shattering its frozen tomb and sending the Ghoul's damaged body to the ground. Unlike the Shadows, which dissolved into nothingness upon defeat, the Ghoul's body boiled away until nothing was left but a bloody smear on the floor.

"Woohoo!" Teddie cheered, pumping his fists in the air. "We've still got it, buddy!" Kamui faded from view as the Persona card reappeared in Teddie's hand. Souji started to congratulate Teddie on his quick victory when Izanagi spoke up.

"That wasn't the only one," the Persona growled. As he said this, three more Ghouls rounded the corner, immediately charging the pair with a haunting roar.

Kamui managed to freeze two of the charging creatures, but the third dodged the Bufudyne spell and leapt at Teddie, its claws extended menacingly. The boy dodged as best he could, but one of the creature's claws tore into his arm and knocked him off balance. The Ghoul quickly spun on its heels, pouncing on the blonde boy as he fell to the ground. Teddie caught the creature's arms, barely stopping its razor sharp claws from ripping into his face. But his right arm was quickly giving way as the wound on his arm oozed a thick black substance, betraying Teddie's true nature as a Shadow.

Souji dove for the two, knocking the Ghoul to the side just as its claws neared Teddie's throat. He rolled on top of the Ghoul, driving his fist into the creature's face while it was still dazed. The nerves in Souji's hand cried out in protest as his knuckles impacted the creature's skull, but Souji just continued to pummel the beast. Teddie quickly summoned Kamui again, finishing off the two frozen Ghouls with a swipe of the Persona's claws. Before he could come to Souji's aid, however, more Ghouls appeared from around the corner.

"Sensei!" Teddie called out, "They're still coming! Lots of them!" He summoned Kamui to send a blast of ice towards the group of Ghouls. A few fell to the powerful Mabufudyne spell, but the majority of the horde continued to charge.

The Ghoul beneath Souji had also shaken off its confusion. It struggled against Souji's grip, waving its claws dangerously close to his face. He managed to push both of the creature's arms to the floor, only to be rewarded with a crushing blow as the Ghoul drove its skull into his face. Souji felt the bone in his nose shatter, causing him to lose his grip on the Ghoul. It caught him in the chest with its feet, throwing Souji off and righting itself in one fluid movement. It was on him before he could recover. Souji barely managed to keep the creature's claws from immediately tearing out his throat.

Teddie kept pounding the mob of Ghouls with ice spells, but unless he quickly dispatched them with direct attacks the Ghouls would quickly recover and resume their onslaught. He desperately wanted to help Souji, but could barely afford time to breathe as he struggled to hold back the growing horde.

"Damn it," Souji grunted as he narrowly avoided another slash to the face from the Ghoul. He could feel his grip on the creature's wrists wavering, the fatigue from his lack of sleep catching up to him. "Nagi!" he yelled desperately, "It would sure as hell be nice if you could help me out here!"

As if on cue, Izanagi leapt forward, his blade slashing through the Ghoul pinning Souji. It let out a sharp hiss as its body was cleaved in two, collapsing lifelessly on top of the young man. Souji scrambled to his feet as the creature's body began to boil away, and soon there was nothing left of the monster but a bloody smear.

"Glad you could make it," Souji said with a sarcastic bite.

"I never left," the Persona said matter-of-factly. "You merely had not requested the use of my skills."

Izanagi's voice struck Souji, and he quickly glanced around for the hallucination of his Persona that always followed him around. However, the only Izanagi he could find was the one in front of him, standing silently awaiting orders. Questions raced through the young man's mind, but he quickly dismissed them. Any questions would have to wait until these creatures were dealt with.

"Nagi," Souji began, his voice full of the commanding presence he'd not felt since the Investigation Team days. "Let's get those monsters. We've got to help Teddie." The Persona nodded silently, then quickly turned and rushed into the fray. Souji ran to stand by Teddie, who was obviously beginning to tire.

"You alright, Teddie?" Souji asked, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders to keep him on his feet. Teddie nodded, leaning his weight against Souji. With Izanagi keeping the Ghouls busy, Teddie was free to order a Mediarahan from Kamui. The bear's Persona then joined Izanagi in fighting off the horde of Ghouls, freezing large groups of the monsters for the swordsman to quickly cut down.

"Better now that you're here, Sensei," Teddie said with relief, easing his weight off of Souji as the Mediarahan took effect. Without weapons, they could do little but rely on their Personas to defeat the flood of Ghouls. But the monsters only seemed to increase in number and slowly began to surround the two summoners.

"Teddie!" Souji called out as he slammed his fist into a Ghoul that had made it through their Personas' defensive screen. "Do you think you can get us out of here with a spell?"

Teddie ducked under another charging Ghoul, kicking his leg out at the same time to knock the creature off balance. "I can try, Sensei, but I need to focus pretty hard for Kamui to cast Traesto," Teddie yelled with a tremor of fear in his voice. "I don't think it'll work with this many enemies!"

"Shit," Souji cursed. "We're not getting anywhere fighting in this corner. We've got to try and push through these guys. Izanagi, burn us a path!"

The swordsman Persona lifted his sword to the sky and swung it down in a wide arc. Fire spilled from the tip of the blade, torching a large group of Ghouls and leaving an opening in the crowd of monsters.

"I don't think I've got enough in me for another one of those," Souji muttered, feeling the energy quickly drain from him. "C'mon, we've got to move now!"

He and Teddie sprinted into the gap, their Personas fighting along the edges to keep the monsters from closing in again. They advanced out of the dead end of the security checkpoint and made it around the corner, but found no end to the monstrous mob. The path blazed by Izanagi's focused Maragidyne was running out, and the Ghouls were quick to fill in the gap behind the two. Teddie had Kamui freeze another large group of Ghouls into solid blocks, leaping with Souji to momentary safety atop the frozen creatures.

Their path to freedom was gone, and try as he might Souji couldn't summon the energy for another wave of flames. Izanagi cut down any Ghoul that scrambled on top of the ice blocks while Kamui focused on freezing more Ghouls so the pair could keep advancing. But Teddie was beginning to tire, his energy reserves also running dangerously low. Kamui froze one final Ghoul before fading into nothingness. The Persona's card returned to Teddie's hand, but the blonde had no energy left to summon it.

"I'm tapped out, Sensei," the bear cried in desperation. "I'm sorry, I can't do anything else. I'll try to distract them so you can escape." The bear stood, preparing to jump into the mob in an attempt to draw them off.

Souji shook his head, grabbing the boy by the shoulders. "Teddie, don't be stupid," he chastised. "Just help me think. There's got to be a way out of this." They looked around frantically for an escape route, for anything they could use to escape this situation, but they were trapped. To make matters worse, the Bufudyne spell keeping the Ghouls below them on ice was starting to fade. Despite his words of encouragement, Souji was beginning to think that they might not make it out of the airport alive, much less ever make it to Japan.

Suddenly, there was a crash in the distance. Souji and Teddie turned to see a wave of Ghouls fly into the air and liquefy against the walls and ceiling. A voice could be heard in the distance as another group of the monsters was suddenly obliterated.

"C'mon, do it again Susano-O! Bonecrusher!" More Ghouls were turned into paste as a skull-faced Persona with wild red hair and spikes around its shoulders and wrists drove into the crowd of Ghouls with incredible force. A middle aged man followed behind the Persona, dressed in a white dress shirt and grey slacks. The yellow stocking cap on his head made him easy for the pair to spot from their position on top of the quickly thawing Ghouls.

"Hey!" Souji yelled out to the man "Help us out over here, please!"

The man stopped advancing, and for a moment Souji was worried he was going to leave. Then the man threw one fist in the air and crying out, "Susano-O! Eternal Black!"

The skull-faced Persona threw its arms out wide before bringing them together with a thunderous crash. Black clouds appeared all around the Ghouls and began sinking into the skin of the creatures. The monsters all began screaming, tearing at their own flesh as it seemed to burn from the inside out. Within seconds, their numbers had been reduced to barely a third, giving Souji and Teddie the opening they needed to sprint to safety.

They caught up with their savior as he and his Persona worked to clean up a few of the stragglers. As soon as they reached him, he called out, "C'mon, I know the way out of here. Follow me!" With that, he turned and sprinted down the hall, with Souji and Teddie right behind him. The remainder of the mob of Ghouls screeched in anger behind them and pursued.

"Thanks for the rescue," Souji yelled to the man over the screaming of the monsters behind them. "But just who are you? How can you summon a Persona?"

The man grinned at Souji, the mischievous look in his eyes making him seem much younger than he really was. "The name's Masao Inaba. I'm a professional graffiti artist. As for the Persona thing, well, that's a long story, but I've been able to summon ol' Susano-O since I was seventeen."

"How old are you now?" Teddie asked between breaths.

"I'm thirty-eight," he said with another grin, "And I'd love to tell you the whole story, but right now we need to beat feet. Those demons aren't exactly going away now," He quickly turned one corner and then another as Souji and Teddie did their best to keep pace. "C'mon, we're almost there."

They rounded one final corner before coming to another door. Souji feared that it would only lead to another blank wall, but when Masao threw the door open the three were engulfed in a bright flash.

When his eyes adjusted, Souji noticed they were in a dimly lit, Victorian style room. The room was lit with a dark light that seemed to emanate from the shadows in the corners of the room. It gave everything in the room a subtle purple hue. There were three high-backed, cushioned chairs sitting around one side of a small, round table. On the other side of the table was a single high-backed loveseat. On the table was a worn book that Souji recognized as the Compendium he'd seen the night before. Sitting on the loveseat, her legs crossed and her hands clasped in her lap, was Elizabeth. She smiled at Souji, a bright, pleasant look that stood in stark contrast to the darkness of the room.

"Greetings, Souji Seta, I'm glad you could make it," she said. She then turned to Masao, saying, "And a great thanks to you, Masao Inaba, for bringing him here safely. I am in your debt."

Masao scratched the back of his head, smiling. "Ah, it was nothing, miss. Especially with the power boost you gave me. I've never seen my Persona with so much power. I wouldn't have stood a chance without that." He took a seat in one of the three chairs. Souji and Teddie sat down as well, many questions flying around in their heads.

Souji spoke up first. "So could someone explain to me what's going on, exactly? One second we're in the international terminal at JFK and then suddenly we're stuck in a messed up maze flooded with Ghoul monsters. What was that? And what were those monsters? They were nothing like the Shadows we fought before."

Elizabeth nodded. "You are correct, Souji Seta, those creatures were not Shadows. It would be more accurate to say that they are demons, summoned in this world by our enemy. It appears he is on to my little scheme and is trying to eliminate my champion before he recovers his potential." Souji pointed at himself, a questioning look on his face. Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, Souji Seta," she continued, "When I say 'my champion,' I am referring to you. You agreed to champion my cause, did you not? I feel the title is appropriate."

"And as for the maze, I think I can explain that," said Masao, turning his chair to face Souji and Teddie. "Back in 1996, me and a group of my friends got caught up in a battle against a dark force that was threatening our home. We were all granted the power of Persona, and we traveled around our city, and a parallel version of our city that existed in my friend's subconscious, fighting demons and doing our part to eliminate this evil force that was destroying our town."

"Whatever it was," Masao continued, "this force had the ability to alter the world in various ways, such as summoning demons or transforming a normal building into a twisting labyrinth. When we saved my friend from the darkness in her subconscious, everything went back to normal, but we never came across the source of the darkness. In fact, one of my good friends has secretly devoted his life to finding the answer to that very question."

"When I realized the situation, I knew immediately that I had to act," Elizabeth said, catching Souji's attention again. "However, thanks to the alterations made to the terminal, I could not enter personally to assist you. I was, however, able to create a link from my personal domain to the terminal. I tried to contact you, but our enemy was hiding you from my power. And as fate would have it, there was another Persona user trapped within the terminal, Masao Inaba. He was close by when I created the link to this space, so I was able to contact him with a little effort. I gifted him with a small portion of my power and sent him to your aid."

"Whoa, that was just a little bit of your power?" Teddie asked in awe. "You must be super strong, Elizabeth-chan."

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at the boy. "Why thank you, Teddie." Her face then grew serious again, "However, understand that even with all my power, I am nothing compared to the enemy we face."

"And just when are we going to find out who this enemy is?" Souji asked, getting slightly frustrated. "We barely got out of there alive, and now you're saying that whatever is after me is more powerful than even you can handle. What exactly are we up against?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Go to your friends, Souji Seta. I do not wish to burden you with the full gravity of this quest until you've had your reunion. Only then shall I give you the information you seek, as well as the chance to reconsider." She smiled at him once more, and then turned to Masao. "And as for you, Masao Inaba, what can I do to repay your assistance?"

The man kicked his feet up on the table in the center of the room, hands behind his head, and leaned back into his chair. "Well, I was trying to catch a flight to Tokyo, probably the same one that these guys were after. Considering that plan's not likely to get off the ground, do you think you could give us a lift?"

Elizabeth chuckled, her light laughter causing the lights in the room to brighten momentarily. "Of course," she said, snapping her fingers. There was a gust of air as the door behind them opened, and through it Souji saw what looked like a hotel lobby. "The exit will take you to a high caliber hotel in the heart of Tokyo." She handed Masao a slip of paper with a small keycard. "You will find your reservation already paid in full, and that key card will take you to the Imperial Suite. I hope you enjoy the accommodations."

Masao laughed out loud. "Wow, that's some amazing stuff. Thanks, Liz." He turned to Souji as he stepped towards the door. "Stay safe, man," he said with a grin, "I have a feeling we might be bumping into each other again soon." With that, he stepped out, closing the door behind him. Souji turned once again to face Elizabeth.

"So what now? How do we get to Inaba from here?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded towards the door, and it swung open once again to reveal a familiar sight.

* * *

~January 2nd, 2018~

Yukiko Amagi sighed as she flipped the pages of her magazine absently. She was starting to regret agreeing to cover the overnight front desk shift for one of her employees. The poor girl was sick, though, so Yukiko didn't think twice about sending her home to rest. She was just frustrated that she had nothing to do, as the lobby was usually empty during this particular shift.

She'd brewed a pot of coffee and set about cleaning the whole lobby area once the shift started at midnight. An hour later, she'd run out of things to clean, straighten and otherwise busy herself with. Now it was three in the morning, and she was pretty sure that she'd flipped through this magazine at least ten times now. The caffeine infusion kept her awake, but with nothing else to do time slowed to an agonizing crawl.

A sudden bang at the door startled her from her funk, and she quickly stood to greet any late arrivals that might have shown up. She didn't expect for the front door to slide open and expel a blonde ball of energy at ninety miles per hour.

"Yukiko-chan! Yukiko-chan! It's so good to see you!" said the blonde boy currently embracing her, and a surprised Yukiko immediately identified him as Teddie's human form. The innkeeper smiled and hugged him back.

"Teddie! What a surprise, I didn't think you'd be back so soon. We just got…" her voice trailed off as she looked once again towards the door. A silver haired man stood there, sliding the door closed behind him. He turned towards her, a tired smile adorning the face that she'd dreamed about for the last three years.

"Hi Yukiko-san," Souji said quietly, "I'm home."

The young woman disentangled herself from Teddie's grip and, throwing all manners out the window, vaulted over the counter as gracefully as her kimono allowed before running up and wrapping her arms around the young man in her doorway. He had grown, now standing a full head taller than her. She felt the tears starting to flow down her cheeks as she buried her head in his shoulder and squeezed him tightly. She smiled through her sobs when she felt his strong arms encircle her shoulders, pulling her into him. She squeezed him even tighter, afraid that if she let up even a little bit that he'd run away from her again.

"Souji," she cried, wiping her tears on his shirt. "I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you so much. After you left, I didn't…I couldn't…I…I…"

The silver haired man shushed her gently, tilting her chin up so he could gaze into her beautiful gray eyes. "I've missed you too, Yukiko-san," he said, smiling brightly despite the fatigue of the last two days quickly overcoming him.

"Please, Souji, don't be so formal," the young woman chastised him. Then she noticed his weary features and gasped. "My God, you look exhausted," she said, slowly easing her grip on him. She then let go of him and took his hand in hers. "Come on. Let's get you a room so you can rest. We'll have plenty of time to catch up in the morning."

"What about Teddie?" Souji asked, looking around for the boy. Then they saw him stretched out on the lobby couch, snoring quietly.

"I'll get to him after we get you settled, now let's go," she ordered. She pulled on his arm, leading him quickly down a hallway towards one of the vacant rooms. She stopped near the end of the hall, sliding open one of the doors quietly before leading him in and turning on the light. She dumped him in a nearby chair and set to preparing one of the futons for her surprise guest.

"I'm sorry, Yukiko," Souji started, struggling to keep his eyes open. Sitting down had given his fatigue the chance it needed to almost completely overwhelm him.

"Nonsense," she said, waving his comment off. "You're obviously exhausted, so getting you rested up is my first priority." She looked back to him as she finished preparing his futon. "Besides," she said with a smile, "this is what I do for a living, remember?" She grabbed his hand again, pulling him off the chair and towards the futon. "Now try to get some sleep, we'll have plenty of time to catch up in the morning."

Souji smiled at her, and he could almost feel the warmth radiating from her smile. "Thanks, Yuki-chan," he said, accidentally using his old pet name for her thanks to his exhausted state. It was a name he'd not used since the accident. She turned towards the door, trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks as she stepped back into the hallway.

"Don't mention it, Souji," she said, turning off the light as he lay down. She turned around, still standing in the doorway. "Just promise me you'll still be here when I wake up."

Souji smiled from his futon in the dark room. "Don't worry. I'm not going to leave you again, Yukiko. I promise."

Yukiko smiled. "Get some sleep, Souji. I'll see you in the morning." She slid the door shut quietly, and Souji listened as her footsteps padded quietly down the hall, towards the sleeping boy in the lobby. He rolled over on his side, closing his eyes, and fell into the blissful darkness of sleep almost instantly.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry about the late chapter. I had family in town last weekend and had no time to write. Combine that with too much time spent playing Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and you have me falling behind my self imposed update schedule.

Lots of stuff going on in this chapter, and the first appearance of a Persona 1 cast member. I'm using a timeline based around P2 taking place in 1999, which places P1 six years earlier in 1996. So even though the 'Who's Who' program in P3 says Masao is only 20, he's 38 in my timeline. Besides, 'Who's Who' was always more of a fun reference to past games than a truly canon source of information.

Yes, I know exactly who our Big Bad is, I'm just not telling Souji yet for exactly the reason Elizabeth gave in this chapter. Since her ultimate goal is to reunite Minato with his friends, she only thinks its fair for Souji to have the same opportunity before he begins his quest in earnest. I think that's pretty clear in the story, but I just want to cover all my bases.

Shout out to Xoraan, RandowReview, KeRose, Gryphon117 and XoreandoX for your reviews for Chapter 3. Thanks to all of you! You guys keep me going!

As always, any comments/criticisms are welcome, so please review or send me a PM with anything you have to say about my work. Thanks for reading!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I spent all day downloading Borderlands on Steam, and now I'm going to go play it until I fall asleep. Look for chapter 5 next weekend, as I get back to a regular schedule of updates.

-Azrael Eternum


	5. Among Friends

Persona: Sins of the Fool

By Azrael Eternum

10/24/10

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Shin Megami Tensei or the Persona series. They are the property of Atlus.

* * *

Chapter 5 – Among Friends

~January 2nd, 2018~

Chie was trying really hard not to laugh. She chastised herself as she covered her quivering grin with one hand, her shoulders twitching with each barely concealed chuckle.

"Chie, come on," groaned Yukiko, for once not laughing along with her friend. "It can't be that funny."

Chie took a deep breath before lowering her hand, still grinning. She rested her elbows on their table in the back of the Junes food court, glancing sheepishly at Yukiko. "Sorry, I just can't imagine you vaulting over the front desk, especially in a kimono. You're lucky you didn't end up flat on your face." She felt another giggle rising up at the thought, but the innkeeper's exasperated sigh brought Chie's mood back down.

"Still, I'm surprised," Chie started, straightening up and stretching her arms out in front of her. "I thought you were still pretty upset with him, after all that's happened."

Yukiko nodded. "I am still upset, and there are some things I still need to say to him. But when I saw him standing in the doorway last night, I…I just couldn't stop myself." Her shoulders sagged as she let out a frustrated sigh. "If you had asked me five minutes before, I'd have said that I wanted to confront him, to find out why he left. To tell him how bad he hurt all of us." She paused, looking down at the table before whispering, "How bad he hurt me."

Yukiko was quiet for a few seconds, trying to make sense of her actions the night before. "But then he was right in front of me," she said, her voice strained in frustration, "and the only thing on my mind was making sure he didn't run away again. I couldn't think about anything else."

"Then we'll just have to make sure that he stays put," Chie said with a grin. "And if he does try to disappear again, he'll have a fully qualified police officer on his tail." Chie cocked her arm out, proudly pointing thumb-first at herself. "I'm sure the Chief would sanction a manhunt for his favorite nephew, right?"

Yukiko couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face. While she knew her best friend was only kidding around, Yukiko could easily picture Chie bringing the full power of the police force to bear on Souji if he so much as left town without saying goodbye, just so Yukiko wouldn't be hurt again. Before Yukiko knew it, her smile had grown into full blown laughter. Chie lowered her hand back to the table and joined in, glad to see her friend cheering up a little.

"So," Chie started as the laughter died down, "do you think your surprise guest is awake yet?"

Yukiko shrugged. "I don't think so. He seemed incredibly exhausted when he arrived, like he hadn't slept in days. I know he was still asleep when I left the inn after lunch." Yukiko pulled her phone out of her coat, quickly checking it. "I told Hirasawa-san to have him call me when he woke up anyway, so he must still be resting."

Chie checked her watch. It was getting close to dinner time. "Well, if he's not up yet, he will be shortly. Yosuke should be there any time now."

Yukiko nodded. "Kanji-kun should be joining us shortly as well."

"Yeah," Chie added, "and Rise-san texted me an hour ago saying she was already on the train, so she should be getting in about the same time."

"Then we'll just be waiting on Yosuke-kun to get back." Yukiko finished. The gurgling sound of an empty stomach echoed across the table towards Yukiko, followed by Chie wrapping her arms around her midsection in mock agony.

"I sure hope they get here soon," the young policewoman groaned. "I'm starving!"

* * *

The only light in Souji's room was the soft glow of his watch as he double-checked the time. "I can't believe I slept through the entire day," he muttered with a sigh, wiping the sleep out of his eyes with one hand. He put his watch back on the floor with the few personal effects that had come with him to Inaba the night before. As he slowly sat up, he silently noted that he should call the Tokyo airport to see if his luggage had made the trip to Japan in one piece.

The door to Souji's room flew open with a bang, catching the lone occupant off guard. Souji's head spun to face the blinding light coming from the open doorway. His whole body tensed as a soft object smashed into his face at high speed.

"About time you woke up, man," came an angry voice from the doorway. "Now hurry up and get dressed, you're making me late for dinner."

Souji relaxed as he lowered the offending object, which he identified as a plastic bag full of clothes, and caught sight of that familiar sardonic grin that he'd not seen for over three years. "Nice to see you too, Yosuke-san," he said, rising to greet his former best friend.

Yosuke strode across the room as Souji stood, and without warning swung hard with a right hook. His fist caught Souji in the side of the face, the impact sending the silver-haired young man to the floor. Souji's hand immediately shot to his sore jaw as he rolled onto his back and faced his assailant. Yosuke stood over him, arms crossed, his face showing no sign of its former mirth.

"That's for not saying goodbye, jackass," the Junes manager said with a growl. Then before the Souji could react, Yosuke grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet, pulling the silver-haired young man in for a tight, one-armed embrace. Yosuke pat his stunned friend on the back before releasing him, once again all smiles. "Damn, is it good to see you again, man!"

Souji smiled nervously, wincing at the painful reaction from his jaw. "It's good to be back, Yosuke-san," he said, rubbing his sore jawbone. "Though your choice of greeting is a bit unexpected, if not well deserved."

Yosuke laughed, clasping his hands behind his head. "It was either me or Chie. And trust me; you do not want to get on her bad side now that she's got a full course of police combat training under her belt," He let out a low whistle. "Though I have to say," he added with a sly grin, "it's made things a lot more interesting in the bedroom."

Souji's eyes widened at his friend's surprising admission. "You mean," he started as Yosuke's grin grew even wider, "you and Chie-san are…"

"Yep," Yosuke confirmed happily. "We've been engaged for three months now, getting hitched this fall."

"Wow," Souji said, surprise and excitement overcoming his drowsiness. "That's great. Congratulations, Yosuke-san."

"Okay, dude, cut it out with the formalities," Yosuke admonished, narrowing his eyes at Souji. "We're best friends, don't talk to me like a complete stranger. Seriously, you keep that up and Chie _will_ have to smack you around a bit."

Souji broke eye contact, glancing away from Yosuke's sharp gaze. "Sorry, Yosuke," he apologized. "I didn't want to piss anyone off by being too friendly. I don't deserve you guys' friendship after leaving like that."

Yosuke rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Geez, dude, lighten up. What do you think I decked you for?" he asked, throwing an arm over Souji's shoulder with a grin. "Just make sure to say something before you go and pull another disappearing act," he added. "Besides, you'll have your opportunity to apologize. I know everyone's dying to hear your excuse for the last few years, anyway."

The brown-haired manager gestured towards the bag of clothes on the floor. "I grabbed you some new clothes from Junes since I hear you showed up without any luggage. I hope they fit; I just grabbed some stuff in my size. Now c'mon, hurry up and get changed while I go wake Lazy the Bear." Yosuke said, moving towards the door. "The others are waiting for us at the usual spot, and I doubt you want to show up to our big reunion in clothes you slept in."

"You think Teddie's still asleep?" Souji asked as his friend stepped out the door.

Yosuke turned around, an annoyed grin on his face. "I lived with the guy, remember? If I hadn't made sure to wake his lazy ass up everyday, we'd never have finished our investigation back then." He turned away again, beginning to slide the door shut behind him. "Meet us at the front desk when you're ready."

"Will do," Souji replied as the door slid shut behind Yosuke.

A few minutes later, Souji emerged from his room clad in a long-sleeved white shirt and black pants. The Junes logo emblazoned across the front of the shirt was partially hidden by Souji's open black jacket. Carrying the plastic Junes bag now filled with his clothes from the day before, Souji made his way towards the lobby where Yosuke was struggling to talk on the phone and free himself from Teddie's vise-like hug at the same time.

"Oh, Seta-san!" called the brown haired young woman at the front desk. "I was asked to have you contact Amagi-senpai as soon as you awoke. If you don't mind…"

"No worries, Hirasawa-san," Yosuke spoke up, putting his phone away, "I just got off the phone with Yukiko-san. She knows we're on our way." Finally disentangling himself from Teddie's grip, Yosuke waved to Souji and gestured towards the front door. "Let's go. My car's right out front. Kanji's already there and Rise-san's on her way."

"What about Naoto-chan?" Teddie asked, looking up at his former roommate.

Yosuke grimaced in frustration. "No one's been able to get a hold of her." Shrugging, he added, "She's probably in the middle of a big case or something in Tokyo. She usually drops off the grid when she's in full investigation mode. Now c'mon, I promised Chie I'd buy dinner and she's gonna kill me if we're the last ones there."

* * *

Junes hadn't changed much since Souji's last trip to the superstore years before. The arrangement of products was different but the layout was the same, including the familiar collection of tables and chairs in the food court. One table in particular near the back of the food court was bustling with activity as its occupants rushed to greet the silver-haired man that had just arrived with Yosuke and Teddie.

"Souji-senpai!" squealed the high pitch voice of one of Japan's most popular idols. Rise was the first to her feet, practically throwing herself at Souji and wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. The rest approached in a much more casual manner, though their excitement easily matched that of the bubbly redhead currently dangling from Souji's neck.

Kanji stepped up behind Rise, extending a hand to Souji. Rise stepped to the side as Souji reached out and shook the tattooed young man's hand, and Kanji wasted no time in pulling Souji in for a quick, one-armed embrace. "Welcome back, Senpai," he said with a smile, stepping back from Souji.

"Sheesh," Chie said, leaning back after also wrapping Souji up in a tight hug. "You had us all so worried." She hugged him again before stepping back with the others towards their old meeting spot.

Yukiko stood from the table as Souji approached. "Hello, Souji-kun," she said, bowing lightly. "You're looking much better this evening. I hope you enjoyed your stay at the inn."

"I'd say he did," Yosuke spoke up, taking a seat between Souji and Chie. He patted his silver-haired friend on the back. "Dude was barely awake when I showed up."

The telltale sound of hunger emanated from Chie's stomach, causing the young policewoman to blush brightly. She smiled through her embarrassment as the others laughed lightly. "Well, it's a good thing we're all here," Yosuke said with a grin, "'cause it sounds like someone's starving. C'mon, let's eat." Chie led the group as they stood, heading quickly towards the counter to order up some sustenance.

"Dinner's on me, guys," Souji said as Yosuke started to pay for their meals. He quickly passed his credit card to the attendant before Yosuke could protest.

"In that case," the young manager added, "drinks are on me. We can introduce Souji and Rise-san to the best bar in the country." Everyone chimed in with approval as the former investigation team gathered once more at their old meeting place.

* * *

Conversation at dinner flowed smoothly, as if no time had passed since Souji's disappearance years ago. The others took the time to catch their leader up on current events. Chie told him about her work as a police officer while Yosuke shared his experiences as Junes' youngest manager. Together they told the story of their courtship, leading up to Yosuke's proposal three months before. Souji laughed heartily at Yosuke's embarrassment as Chie continually referred to her fiancé by his pet name. Souji laughed even more when Kanji mentioned that their bartender had taken to using it to annoy Yosuke every time the group went for drinks.

Rise shared stories of her last three years, most of which were spent on tour and recording two new albums. She regaled the group with tales of concert snafus and living on a bus as she traveled all over the country for shows. She confessed that she was ready for a break after three exhausting years, and she was very glad that the chance had come along to reunite with her friends. Apparently, her new manager had supported the idea wholeheartedly, and had worked to clear the idol's schedule for the foreseeable future so Rise could stay in Inaba as long as she liked.

Kanji just shrugged off questions about the past few years, claiming that things hadn't changed much at the textile shop since Souji left. And while Kanji still took part in the conversation, Souji noticed that the tattooed young man visibly tensed for a second whenever Naoto's name was mentioned. The former leader decided not to press the issue, doing his best to steer the conversation away from the female detective.

Everyone was especially curious about how the last few years had treated Souji. He indulged them with stories of his life in New York City for the last three years, though he left out a lot of the details. He was enjoying their lighthearted reunion too much to bring it down with his problems. Eventually, he would tell them the whole truth, but for this moment he just wanted to enjoy seeing their faces again.

Yukiko spoke little, though she couldn't help but smile as she watched Souji reconnect with their friends. Though his disappearance had significantly hurt all of them, Souji's actions had also played a role in shaping them into the people they were today. Yukiko was glad that he could see them now that they had all had a chance to grow up.

After dinner was over, Yosuke led the group to the shopping district and his new favorite hangout, Soul Phrase. He ushered Rise and Souji into the packed bar, excited to introduce them to the proprietor and bartender.

"Junpei!" exclaimed Teddie, diving into the bartender for one of his now common hugs.

"Ted, long time, no see, buddy. Glad to have you back," the ball cap wearing bartender said as he glanced up. "Hey, it looks like Hana-chan has some new friends, too!" Souji and the others laughed loudly as Yosuke facepalmed. "Nice to meet ya," he continued, ignoring Yosuke, "I'm Junpei Iori. Welcome to Soul Phrase."

"Thank you, Iori-san," Rise replied, reaching out to shake Junpei's hand. "I'm Rise Kujikawa."

"Woah," Junpei exclaimed. "I thought I recognized you! It's not often that my bar gets celebrity customers," he added with a bow. "I'm honored." He took her hand in his and lightly kissed it with a grin, eliciting a string of giggles from Rise. "Oh, and please," he added, "call me Junpei."

At that moment, a pregnant woman with long, flowing red hair approached the bar carrying a tray of empty mugs. Setting it down on the bar, she grabbed Junpei by the ear and pulled, causing the bartender to grimace and quickly let go of Rise's hand.

"Now Junpei," she said with a mock-serious tone to her soft voice, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop hitting on the clientele." She twisted his ear lightly, bringing forth a painful groan from the bartender.

"Sorry Chidori-chan," he said with a nervous smile as the redhead let go of his ear. "You know me, always trying to be friendly." He turned back towards Rise and Souji. "This is Chidori, my wife and soon-to-be mother of my child. She keeps this place running smoothly while I work on public relations." He grinned widely at that last part, causing Chidori to roll her eyes. "This is Rise Kujikawa, the famous idol," he added, indicating the shorter redhead.

"Nice to meet you, Kujikawa-san," Chidori responded politely. "What brings you to Inaba?"

"Rise went to high school with the rest of us," Yosuke spoke up, stepping forward. "She's another member of our little group."

Junpei's face was aghast. "You went to school with Hana-chan?" he asked, covering his mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry, that must have been a terrible ordeal." Everyone laughed as Yosuke glared at the bartender, though Chidori still managed to reach across the bar and smack Junpei on the back of the head.

Rubbing his injured skull with an overacted grimace, Junpei nodded towards Souji. "And who's this other new face, then?"

"I'm Souji Seta," the silver-haired man replied, extending his hand to Chidori and then Junpei. "I'm another old friend of Yosuke and the others."

Junpei shook his hand, nodding. "Ah, so you're the dude these guys were talking about last night." Before Yosuke could protest, Junpei shrugged, adding, "I'm not trying to eavesdrop, but you guys aren't exactly quiet, and the bar's not big place." Focusing once more on Souji, he continued, "It's good to meet ya. You've got a nice bunch of friends here." The barkeep's normally jubilant expression momentarily became serious, though it still carried a smile. "Don't take 'em for granted." He glanced sidelong at Yukiko for a split second before letting go of Souji's hand with a final shake.

"Alright, alright, enough of that," Yosuke interjected. "We're here to celebrate Souji's homecoming, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Junpei, beer's all around."

"I'll have some wine, please," Yukiko added.

"Oh, and make mine a margarita," said Rise.

"Do I get a beer too, Yosuke?" Teddie asked.

"And a soda for the youngster," Yosuke finished, quickly steering Teddie towards a table by the opposite wall.

"Aw," the bear whined, "why don't I get one?"

"Because you still look like a fifteen year old and you don't have ID," Yosuke hissed. "Besides, last time you had any alcohol at my place, you fell asleep for three days."

"I can't help it," Teddie grumbled, "I'm a light weight bear."

Everyone was laughing as they took their seats, their conversation quickly picking up again. Before long, Chidori brought their drinks: red wine for Yukiko, a salt-rimmed margarita for Rise, two pitchers of beer for the rest to split and a pitcher of soda for Teddie.

"Thank you, Chidori-chan," Teddie smiled, foregoing his mug and draining the soda straight from the pitcher. "What?" he asked as Souji stared at him dumbstruck. "I'm bear-y thirsty." Yukiko laughed while the others all groaned.

As they recovered from another of Teddie's bad puns, Rise spoke up. "Souji-senpai, you still haven't told us why you left the country." The table quickly grew silent as all eyes turned towards Rise and then to Souji. Yukiko broke the silence first.

"Souji-kun, if you'd rather not talk about it right now, you don't have to," she comforted.

"Yeah," Chie added, "Tonight's was supposed to be a chance to relax. I doubt Souji-kun wants to be dredging that up right now."

Souji sighed, taking a long pull from his beer. "No, if I put this off, it just makes it harder to do later," he said. "I appreciate the concern, but it's best if I get this out in the open so we can clear the air." He refilled his beer from one of the pitchers, leaned forward onto the table and, taking a deep breath, began.

"You all remember how my power was…unique, right?" he started.

"Of course," Kanji answered, "Your ability got us out of a lot of tight spots. Without you, we wouldn't have stood a chance against Izanami in that last battle."

Souji nodded. "Well, as much of a blessing as it was at the time, the long term effects were less than pleasant." Souji rubbed his temples; just the memories of the last few years seemed to bring his headache back. "It started about a year before I left. You all know I was complaining of headaches up until I took off. At first, I though it was nothing, and chalked it up to a lack of sleep or dehydration. As it turns out, it was my power rebelling against me."

The faces around the table all showed shock and confusion, so Souji continued before anyone could speak up. "It turns out that my power, the Wild Card, was never meant for humans to wield. It was slowly tearing my mind apart. I was starting to hallucinate regularly, seeing Shadows and Persona and all sorts of things. Then, near the end of that year, I started to lose control. I started drinking frequently, as that seemed to dull the effects. But then I burned down Yosuke's apartment and almost killed three of my best friends."

Yosuke cocked his head to one side in confusion. "But that whole thing was ruled an accident," he said, "The fire department said you must have knocked a candle over while you were drunk. It's not like you meant to do it or anything."

Chie, on the other hand, was staring hard at the table, the memories of that night still fresh in her mind after all these years. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her gaze snapped up toward Souji. He wasn't going to tell them about…no, he couldn't…

Souji avoided her gaze, staring into the tabletop as he continued. "The truth is, while I was…intoxicated…I lost control of my powers. To put it simply, I accidentally cast an Agidyne spell in the apartment. Usually alcohol helped to prevent this, but it apparently wasn't a perfect solution. Luckily, Chie was still sober enough to help me drag Yosuke and Kanji out of the building, and nobody else was hurt in the fire."

"I couldn't let something like that happen again, so I left as quickly as I could. I traveled around the country for a while, trying to find a way to fix my problem. I couldn't stay in one place for long, since I brought destruction with me wherever I went. I bounced back and forth between all sorts of drugs until I got my hands on something that worked."

He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a bottle of red and white pills. "These were apparently part of some abandoned experiment by the Kirijo Group a few years back. I don't know what they were used for, but they got rid of the crazy. I had control back without having to drown in alcohol." Placing the bottle back in his pocket, he continued, "But there was a downside, of course. These pills were abandoned for a reason. Over time they are guaranteed to kill the user."

The table exploded. "What the hell, man! What were you thinking?" yelled Kanji, banging his mug on the table. Yukiko and Chie both covered their mouths in shock, tears rolling slowly down Yukiko's face. Rise was openly crying next to Souji, her face buried in the sleeve of his jacket. Teddie looked scared and confused, but was otherwise speechless.

"Calm down, everyone," Yosuke spoke over the noise, trying his best to be loud without drawing any more undue attention to their table. "I don't think Souji was too wild about it, either. Go ahead, man."

Souji nodded. "You're right. At first I was afraid to keep using them. But they were the only thing that worked reliably. I also discovered that when rationed and used with alcohol, the effects lasted longer without taking as many pills. But at this point, I'd become a drug-dependant alcoholic. I couldn't stand the thought of any of you finding me only to see me in that state, so I decided to truly disappear. New York seemed a good a place as any."

"So I lived in New York City for three years," Souji continued. "I worked as a private investigator to make ends meet, but spent most of my money on the drugs and liquor. I had to keep up a daily intake of both to keep my powers in check, and it only seemed to get worse with time. I even started hearing voices when I was sober, which eventually coalesced into a persistent hallucination of Izanagi following me around. I was circling the drain, and I didn't have a lot of time left, I don't think."

"I'm so sorry, Senpai," Rise cried, still clinging to Souji's arm. "I…I didn't realize how bad it was, how…but…I'm so sorry!"

The despair around the table was palpable, drawing concerned glances from other patrons. Yukiko fought down the urge to run to Souji and comfort him. There had to be more to his story, she knew. Otherwise he wouldn't have come home.

Chie felt the same thing, and she asked, "So what made you decide to come back now?" Rise glared at her angrily, still clasping on to Souji's sleeve. "I don't mean that in a bad way," Chie stammered, wishing she'd asked in a more delicate fashion, "but you said yourself that you didn't want us to see you in that condition. So what changed?"

"Do you remember Margaret?" Souji asked, earning confused looks all around.

"Yeah," Yosuke said after a pause. "She was that strange woman who wanted to test us before we went off to fight Izanami."

"Oh yeah, her," Chie chimed in. "Whew, I'm still surprised we made it through that fight in one piece. She was just as tough as Izanami, maybe tougher."

"Yeah, and even though she was the one to admit defeat, she looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat," Rise added between sniffles.

Souji nodded. "She also told us about her sister, who had gone off looking for somebody."

"Uh huh," Kanji agreed. "Something about a seal of some kind. It didn't make a lot of sense to me."

"Well," Souji said, "Two nights ago, Margaret's sister, Elizabeth, showed up at my office. She said she'd finally found a way to free this guy, but she needs our help to do it without destroying the world in the process. Apparently, he used his soul to separate Erebus, a creature made up of humanity's negative thoughts and feelings, from Nyx, some supernatural being that would bring about the end of life on Earth given half a chance. As long as his soul remains to power the seal, Erebus can't reach Nyx and the world keeps on turning."

"So why exactly are we wanting to mess with this seal thing?" Kanji asked. "Sounds to me like if we leave well enough alone, then the world isn't in any danger." The others nodded, looking to their former leader.

"Two reasons," Souji replied. "First off, if we succeed, Elizabeth can get rid of this power that's slowly killing me. She's already given me a gift that helps me control it. However, she'll only be able to act once her plan comes to fruition. I know it's selfish of me," he added, shoulders sagging, "but I wanted a chance to see everyone again. As my true self, not the drugged up version."

"Second," he continued, "it seems that some outside force is willing to do anything to keep Elizabeth's plan from succeeding, regardless of who's involved. It was powerful enough to turn the entire airport in New York into a maze filled with Ghouls. Me and Teddie barely made it out alive, and only after Elizabeth sent someone to intervene on our behalf and then transported us here. That's the short version of how I ended up in Inaba ahead of my flight."

"So to answer your question, Chie," Souji continued, looking around the table at all his friends, "I'm here to ask for your help. Elizabeth seems to think that whatever it is I'm going up against is powerful enough to take us all on, and that I'll need all the help I can get. If you don't want to fight with me, that's fine. You have no stake in this, and you'd likely be risking your lives."

"Don't be stupid," Yosuke interrupted. "Of course we have a stake in this. This might be the only chance to fix what's wrong with you, right? Then we have to do everything we can to help."

Souji started to protest, but words of affirmation echoed around the table, stopping him short.

"You're friends have a very strong will," Izanagi spoke from behind him, "The coming storm will be easier to weather with them by your side."

Souji grinned. It seemed all his worrying was for nothing. Even after all these years, his friends were still willing to come to his aid, no matter the cost. He cursed himself silently for walking away all those years ago.

"So who is this guy that we're trying to save, Souji-kun," asked Yukiko from across the table.

"His name is Minato Arisato," Souji answered, "and he's a Wild Card, just like me."

* * *

The group made plans to meet up again the next night to go over their new mission. Afterwards, the conversation slowly made its way back into more casual territory. A couple of hours later, they decided to go their separate ways for the evening. Teddie accompanied Yosuke back to his apartment while Rise and Souji decided to walk back to the Amagi Inn with Yukiko.

When the last of the group filed out of Soul Phrase, Junpei flipped open his phone. He quickly dialed a number and held the phone to his ear, his eyes carefully watching the door with his back to the bar.

After only two rings there was a response.

…

"Hey, it's me," Junpei replied.

…

"Good, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip the formalities this time. I've got some news you're going to want to hear."

…

"Yeah. I overheard one of my customers talking, a guy named Souji Seta. He mentioned something about Nyx and Erebus, but I thought I was hearing things. But then he mentioned his name. And something about a 'Wild Card'."

…

"That's what I thought too. What do you want me to do?"

…

"Alright, I'll see you soon then."

…

"You too, Mitsuru-senpai. Goodnight." Junpei snapped his phone shut and returned to tending the bar.

* * *

Author's Note:

The big reunion! It looks like Souji's got some help for the coming challenges. And the team has welcomed him back with open arms. But what's happened to Naoto? And what about Yukiko? And Chie? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out.

I spent a good deal of time in this chapter messing around with the honorifics. I like using them, but since I'm not exactly overflowing with knowledge of the Japanese language, I want to make sure I'm using them correctly. I'm already checking multiple online sources, but if you see any honorifics out of line, please let me know and tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it properly. Thanks!

Once again, comments and criticisms are always welcome. The story only has a few more easygoing chapters like this before things really start heating up. The road ahead might be rough…

Much appreciation to Gryphon117, Xoraan, KeRose, XoreandoX and Astrih Konnash, my all-star reviewers for chapter 4. Thanks a bunch, your reviews give me the fuel to keep this thing going.

Next chapter coming soon!

-Azrael Eternum


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